There is now more content after the "cold" scene, at the end of Act II with the return of an old friend.
To start from the "cold" scene, you can use the cheat map arctic#cinematic
Full Change List
Adds new story scene after the current "cold" scene
Moves credits to after the new content
Fixes floating camera in the range
Fixes two doors sharing the same save ID in in chapter 3
Adds captions and subtitles to new content
Work on sound for the new scene, adds ambience and sound effects
Tweaks layout of the in-game credits
Fixes corpses registering for the "deadly fisherman" achievement
Updates translations to latest
This update brings you very close to the planned end of Estranged: Act II. If there are elements of the game you'd like me to change, please do let me know via the feedback mechanisms below (before it gets too late!).
You can contact me in the comments here, using the in-game feedback, emailing alan [at] alanedwardes (dot) com or via Discord - https://discord.gg/estranged
Thank you for being part of the Estranged project! Alan
Late February Update: New Game Trailer
I have been taking a break from development for a week to plan, shoot and edit a new trailer for Estranged: Act II!
The main structure of the trailer was something I planned out first, with the rough storyboard completed within an evening.
Part 2 - Script
The next part was the script, since in the trailer you can hear John's voice setting the scene from his perspective. MUSIC, FADE FROM BLACK John: The island seemed like the perfect place. John: Tranquil John: Picturesque MUSIC FADE TO ECHO, CUT TO BLACK John: Isolated MUSIC John: They didn't tell us what had happened John: I don't think they even knew John: But they tried to cover it up John: How can one company sow so much destruction John: I need to find a way home Part 3 - First Draft
After that, the work on the video began! I completed the first couple of shots with the music and voice over in place. Here's the very first draft video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foJHTwJBkrs Part 4 - Daily Drafts to Completion
I made in total 8 drafts, uploading around 1 a day until the trailer was complete. Working like this helped me keep the end in sight, and helped with giving myself a daily goal of uploading a draft showing more progress.
I was also able to circulate the drafts amongst my family and friends, which was extremely valuable to garner feedback. Below is the final trailer edit!
This trailer will likely be the release trailer for the game! Watch this space for the next updates, which will conclude the story of Estranged: Act II.
Thanks for playing Estranged! Alan
Early February Update: New Ending Scene, Flashlight in Chapter 3
An update is now live on Steam for Windows, macOS and Linux, including new content, the flashlight in chapter 3, and some other tweaks.
New Ending Scene
There's a new scene connecting the two ending sequences in Act II. This new sequence provides a bit more backstory about how the Fisherman ended up in the current credits location!
To jump directly to this content, you can use the cheat: map crash#cinematic
Flashlight in Chapter 3
After many player requests, you can now pick up the flashlight in Chapter 3! The flashlight is available in the Arque offices. It was originally going to be re-introduced much earlier, however some performance problems prevented that (these have since been resolved).
Working Towards Release
As I have been saying for a the past few updates, I am working towards releasing the game, which involves tying off the final bits of content and my release checklist.
The content of the updates will slow down during this part of development - but I am looking to focus on stability. If you notice anything that you'd like to see fixed, please let me know in the #bugs channel on the Estranged Discord server (below).
Thank you for helping with the project! Join discord.gg/estranged to report bugs, provide feedback and submit ideas!
Thanks, Alan
Late January Update: Gunplay Tweaks, More Ending Content
A build is now live on Steam for Windows, macOS and Linux with new ending content, and some improvements to weapon handling!
New Ending Content
There's now some extra content at the end of the game, a couple of minutes of new content. I decided to push this into the game while I flesh out the section after it, which will land in the next update (and likely tie-off Act II's story).
To jump directly to the new content, use the cheat map crash#cinematic (this will take you to the end of the previous update).
Gunplay Tweaks
There have been two big changes to the gunplay in Act II:
Running and gunning now results in the correct animation
Holstered weapons can no longer be shot (until unholstered)
The first item above was caused by the "running" animation for most weapons not being appropriate for firing at the same time. For example, with the rifle, the running animation previously held the weapon close to the player's chest, and attempting to shoot in this state led to it snapping back into the shooting animation and back again.
The second item around holstering was very similar, previously if a weapon was holstered, shooting it would immediately yank it out of the holster animation, and back into it again after the shot was fired.
Other Changes
Fixes a floating camera in the range level
Fixes a place you could get stuck in the scaffolding in the generator level in the mine
Switches from OpenGL to Vulkan on Linux
Added an option to invert the controller Y-axis
With Act II's final scenes approaching, I would again like to thank everyone that has been following and contributing to the project.
If you have feedback or would like to report bugs, please reach out on discord.gg/estranged
Thank you for playing! Alan
Mid December Update: More Content, Weapon, and Achievement
A build is now live on Steam for Windows, macOS and Linux with new content, a new weapon and improvements to the arcade game mode!
Street Content
There's now more content around the street level, just after the Arque office building, with a set of new enemies to boot. Use the cheat map TheBase#sp05 to jump there!
Hammer Weapon & Arcade Changes
There's now a hammer weapon in Estranged: Act II, which is available in certain places in the single player story. The Warehouse arcade level now has a lot more weapons available to the player, allowing you to pick from the Pistol, Rifle, Pickaxe and Hammer to fight the horde.
New Achievement
There's a new achievement, "Barista", which can be obtained by tidying the coffee table in the lecturing room in the Arque offices.
Other Changes
Fixes to the resolution selector in the screen menu
Changes to freeze AI characters during loading screens
Upgrades from Unreal Engine 4.22.3 to 4.24.0
Adds a new developer log if "on-screen statistics" are enabled
Fixes a bug where spawning in water would not muffle the sound
Fixes bug with closed captioning around infected character chasing
Enables frame rate smoothing to avoid hitches due fluctuation
The view under-water is now downsampled (since it is blurry anyway) using a custom full-res blur
The web browser has now been removed from Act II, since it was the source of many post-shutdown crashes
The in-game news has now been replaced by a native UI widget driven by iamestranged.com
As with every update - thank you for playing Estranged! I'm around at https://discord.gg/estranged if you'd like to provide feedback, or just hang out with the Discord community.
Alan
Hotfix 1.4.10, 1.4.11, 1.4.12 & 1.4.13
A hotfix update is now live to address the following issues:
Fixed a problem with the "Flushed Away" achievement, since items could no longer be flushed down the toilets in-game
Removed the Christmas menu background from rotation since it needs some work
Fixes issue with crabs in Prelude
Fixes issue with the screen flashing white when certain materials in view
Fixes weapons disappearing through the floor when dropped
Fixes the "Well Hydrated" achievement
Fixes CJK character display
Late November Update: Mac is Back!
macOS Support
Estranged: Act II is now available on macOS, and I will try to keep it as up to date as possible with its Windows and Linux counterparts. The addition of macOS as a supported platform for Act II helps realise one of my goals for the project: to make Estranged available to as many people as possible, on whichever platform they chose.
If you're interested in some of the technical challenges behind this work, you can read about how I automated the macOS build process (the same as I have for Windows and Linux) on my blog.
Content Work
In addition to the macOS build, I have been continuing the story of Estranged: Act II, and working to bring the story of Act II to a close.
If you'd like to try out the current ending, you can by opting-in to the Steam "development" beta version of Estranged: Act II, and using the cheat map TheBase#sp10.
I would like to thank you for your continued support of the Estranged project, and I hope you will play the next few updates, leading up to the release.
As ever, I am available to talk to directly on Discord at https://discord.gg/estranged, or via the in-game feedback if you'd like to let me know what you think.
Thank you for playing Estranged! Alan
Early November Update
Update 1.3.5 is now live on Steam for Windows and Linux, including French translations, and more content work for the Shooting Range arcade level!
This update should be compatible with old save files - this release serves as a test to ensure I can continue to add content post-release, and not break save files.
Shooting Range Updates
There have been a few updates to the shooting range, including access to all of the weapons in Act II, not only the pistol. The range also has a few added easter eggs for you to find!
French Translations
Act II is now translated to French! This unlocks the game for a lot of French-speaking players worldwide, which is something I am very excited about.
Background Work on New Content
I have been working on content to continue the current final level - but that's not ready to play just yet. Watch for future builds for more content!
As with every update, if you have ideas for features you'd like to see, let me know on the Steam Forums or https://discord.gg/estranged
Thank you for playing! Alan
Mid October Update
There's a new update for Estranged: Act II on Steam for Windows (with Linux to follow soon), including continual work on the ending content, a re-work of the subtitle system to support captions and more!
More Ending Content
This update includes the next section of the current final level, with a glimpse of the aftermath in the level that follows. To jump to the new content, you can use the cheat map TheBase#sp10
Subtitle Improvements & Captions Support
The subtitle system has been re-worked to allow for "stacking" of subtitles, and support for captions (which can be enabled in the Sound menu).
The size and font of subtitles can also be changed in the new Interface menu if you find the default too large or small, or you have trouble reading the font.
Controller Button Re-Binding
The Controls menu has been split into a "Keyboard Bindings" and "Controller Bindings" menu, which supports the re-binding of controller buttons alongside keyboard and mouse buttons.
The subtitle re-work and controller button re-binding features were mainly aimed at making Act II accessible to all. If you have ideas for other improvements to make the play experience better for you, please let me know!
Vietnamese Translations
Act II now supports Vietnamese, thanks to a community contributor! This brings the total number of complete and partially complete languages supported up to 23! I would like to thank all of the translators in the community for their help with this - if you would like to help out, contact me on Discord!
Thank you for playing and shaping Estranged: Act II! If you'd like to submit feedback directly, join me and the rest of the community on Discord - https://discord.gg/estranged
Alan
Update 21/10/2019: Patch 1.3.2 Released
I have pushed a patch to address the following issues:
Addresses issues with the Vietnamese translations
Allows the subtitle font to be updated live
Makes the hints respect the subtitle font selections
This patch is binary-compatible with the version released above, meaning your saved games will still work.
Late September Update
There's a new update for Estranged: Act II on Steam for Windows and Linux, including story and content work!
I have been working on the current final level, extending out the current ending with content and destruction sequences, and adding details to the prelude and chapter 3 office levels.
There's additional story included in Chapter 3 in the addition of a slide presentation, similar to Act I. Localisation work for this presentation will be coming soon.
The update also includes various bug fixes, graphical tweaks (including more realistic sky for Chapter 3) and some playability improvements.
I would like to thank everyone that has played and helped with development so far - the community has been pivotal in shaping the game, and finding bugs.
As I have said before, Act II is drawing to a close - so this and the next few updates will be critical in finishing off and polishing the game so it can come out of Early Access.
Thank you for your continued support! If you'd like to chat with me and other members of the community, please join us at https://discord.gg/estranged
Alan
End of August Update: More Content, Bullet Ricochet, Statistics
There's a new update for Estranged: Act II live on Steam for Windows, with Linux to follow in the next few days!
More Ending Content
The position of the credits in the current final level has moved, providing more story content to play. The summer break meant that I wasn't able to spend as much time contuining this content, however future updates will continue to flesh this part out.
Bullet Ricochet
Bullets now ricochet from hard surfaces such as metal, rock and concrete. This can be combined with bullets travelling through infected - so you could kill multiple infected using a single bullet shot at a certain angle at the floor or wall.
Statistics
There are now local and global statistics available in Estranged: Act II. The tracking of these statistics started with the previous update, and include things such as "headshots", "bullets fired", "items flushed" and more.
The new statistics can be accessed via Extras -> Statistics.
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That's it for this update! If you find bugs, have some ideas you'd like to see in Estranged, or just want to chat, head over to https://discord.gg/estranged -- we just surpassed 500 members!
