Escape: Close Call
New Update Live Today
It's been a while but we've updated the game with gameplay tweaks and various improvements. We noticed not many players have managed to escape so we improved the tutorial and made the game overall slightly easier, but without taking away from the frantic fun involved.
Please try it out and give us your feedback!
Mega Update on the Way
Sorry for taking so long since the last update but we are working on a new patch that fixes many of the issues brought to our attention (thanks everyone for the feedback), especially those involving controller input and UI when not using M&K, or in VR Mode. In addition we tweaked the gameplay, improved the tutorial mode, added a new run handicap, and a lot of small changes and improvement.
This new patch will be coming in a few weeks at most, and we wanted to give everyone the heads up.
Thank you for your patience!
Update 1.3 Live: Tutorial Mode + Free Roam!
From when we first released Escape a lot of comments we received were on how difficult it is. We deliberately made the game challenging and satisfying, but at the same time we noticed some player missing out on many of the game's features and then quitting out of frustration. Even though we added hints, tips, missions, videos, etc, that explained the game basics, many people were still finding it hard to understand what the game was all about.
For this reason we have added a new mode - in-game tutorial. In the tutorial the player goes through the game's foundations, one by one, and gets to learn most of the principles we feel are necessary to be able to play the game properly. We don't like spoon-feeding the player too much so it doesn't contain every single aspect of gameplay, but we're confident that it's clearly laid out and that completing the tutorial will benefit players and improve their understanding of the game that we worked very hard on.
In addition, we had some requests on porting the free roam mode in the VR version of the game to players who don't own a VR device. We personally think the mode isn't very immersive without VR but it's a change of pace and some players may like it, so we included it in the default branch of Escape. The free roam mode can be initiated by clicking its button after your run is over. In it you're given the opportunity to freely walk around the playing area on the ground level, and the more stages you had unlocked in your run the more area you get to explore.
As always, we appreciate all feedback we receive so please try the modes and tell us what you think.
Thanks!
More updates and patches
In addition, we added a lot of videos to explain some aspects of the game we deem important. These videos show as hints after each run, and other videos explaining what each powerup does show up in the store panel. We also added more graphical indications explaining controls and giving hints.
We also tweaked the missions/goals to make sure players get a better hold of standoffs and close calls. These two aspects of the game are what make it fun, and we noticed many players completely miss out on knowing how to use standoff mode, so we hope all these changes make a difference. So far not a single player has managed to successfully escape.
VR mode is stable, and works well with new Oculus Rift devices and is pretty fun. We're still exploring more VR modes but the priority is now the multiplayer update that will come next. We will work hard on releasing a multiplayer beta in the next week or so.
Thank you everyone who bought the game and see you in the next update! :)
VR Support is Here!
You play normally with the VR view occupying the top down camera like in regular play, although by looking around you can actually see enemy vehicles driving towards you from far away.
In addition, we added a sandbox mode after each crash where you can head down to the ground and walk around the in-game world, in full VR! It's a small experience but we think it's pretty cool, so if you bought yourself a CV1 but don't have too many games supporting it now you have one more!
To play Escape using an Oculus Rift you need to do two things. First, right click the game in your Steam library, go to properties, Choose the BETAS tab, and select the "oculus" branch of the game. Second, add "-oculus" as a launch option.
And that's it! You need a gamepad to browse the menus on an Oculus, and you can move around the level using the analog to rotate and Standoff button to move forward. The more stages you unlock the more sights there are to see, so the sandbox mode is dependent on how good your run was each time!
We will continue working on updating this mode and adding the modes promised earlier (such as multiplayer), so stay tuned and keep sending us your feedback.
Have fun and for those who have a VR device, we hope you enjoy the new experience!
Patching Things Up
Escape has been on the market for three days now, and during this period we received a lot of feedback and got a general idea how people played the game and what we thought they did right and which features we thought they missed out on. We have also been working hard to iron out any bugs or issues we noticed, and for this reason version 1.04 of Escape is currently live.
The biggest changes are explaining the underlying concept of Escape inside the game itself, so we included a "help" button explaining the game's purpose, controls, and how to play. We also added two basic videos that play at the end of each run showing what we believe are the biggest two ideas that players miss when trying to escape for the first few times.
Control-wise we added analog stick support for those using a gamepad (you can still use shoulder buttons to turn), and tweaked other options as well as adding several minor features. We will continue working on the game and pushing out updates on an almost daily basis, all while working on the major updates that will be hitting very soon.
We thank everyone who got in touch with us, the reviewers who made us very happy with their opinions (so far 4 positive 0 negative!) and with every person who purchased Escape to check it out. If you have anything to say please contact us by sending an email or starting a thread in the discussions tab, or commenting here.
Thank you and see you in the next update! Some very exciting things are on the way :)
Escape: Close Call Sees the Light!
We are extremely excited to finally release Escape! We tried to the best of our abilities to make the game as engaging and challenging as possible, and feel the end result is a game that is both fun and addictive.
For choosing the price, we feel the price point is fair considering the content provided and how much time users will spend trying to escape, and we made sure there is a lot of replay value. As a bonus, there's a discount of 30% off during the first week of launch!
As mentioned in the description, the game is difficult, and you will not be able to pull off the cool moves shown in the trailer right from the very start. To help with this, we wrote a short guide explaining the basics and giving some beginner tips in case you're having trouble playing. You can find the guide in the relevant section.
Also we have so many ideas for new features and modes! The current state of the game is a stable and complete single player experience, but there is still plenty of room to add new modes, features, and tweaks on the overall gaming experience. We are committed to including a multiplayer mode very soon as well but before all this happens we want to release the game and plan things one step at a time.
For this reason we implore you to contact us with any feedback and whatever you feel we did right or did wrong. User input is such an important aspect of video game design and we simply cannot move forward without the input of our users and fans, and gaming fans in general.
Today is an important day for us and we hope the game doesn't disappoint you. Thanks for checking us out, thank you to all the users who voted for us in Greenlight, and we hope you enjoy the game!
Happy escaping!