Thank you for supporting Fort Solis. We are sorry to see that some of you are having a bad experience with several issues.
Regarding the main issues that have occurred, here are the solutions/steps we are taking:
Performance issues
Regarding all the performance issues, we recommend you to update your graphic card drivers if you haven't done it and see if the problem persists. If that's the case, you can send us the logs located in %appdata%\Local\Sycamore\Crashes via this email: support@dearvillagers.com by providing all the hardware details as much as you can. It would help a lot.
Fatal Error
Same as above, some fatal errors can be solved by updating your Nvidia drivers. You should try to get the latest update and it might improve your experience. If not, provide us with your hardware details.
Gameplay aspect
Fort Solis is a game for people who are looking for a short but intense game. The game is designed to be a deep, immersive experience that tells a story. Traditional gameplay mechanics and combat would have affected the narrative elements we worked so hard to preserve. We hope you'll understand this.
Ultrawide
The ultrawide resolutions won’t be supported. The game has been built around a 16:9 ratio, unfortunately anything outside of that would require all animations and cutscenes to be reworked.
Key rebind
We will look for a solution to address this problem. We are very sorry that this impacted your gameplay experience. The team is already working to solve the identified issues and will communicate on the news hub as soon as a patch is available.
Steam Deck
It's not planned to optimize the experience on the Steam Deck for the moment.
As we stated in the previous news, Fort Solis is made by a small team of 10 people who are sincerely doing their best to deliver the finest version of the game. We hope that you'll understand about that.
Patches are coming, stay tuned!
Thank you for your support.
_Urgent Message Received - Patches Incoming
Hello Community,
First of all, we wanted to thank you for the massive support during this launch day and thanks all our early players!
We couldn't miss the feedback on some technical issues. We are sorrry to see some of you are having a bad experience and we wanted to make clear that we are fully dedicated to fix the identified issues.
Fort Solis is made by a small team of 10 people who is sincerely doing its best to deliver the finest version of the game. Please be patient, patches are upcoming!
In the final article showcasing the remarkable women who elevated Fort Solis we are happy to introduce Julia Brown our amazing star actress who jumped into motion capture for the game.
Julia answered some questions about her first video game-related project and her experience of gaming in everyday life. Also we would like to share the key art above, which features her character in Fort Solis - Jessica Appleton.
Let's dive in!
Julia Brown is a Scottish actress and singer. She stars as Lois Bennett in the BBC series World on Fire (2019). She also appeared in the CBBC series M.I. High (2014) and the crime drama Shetland (2018–2021). Fort Solis is her first (but surely not last) forey into video games acting.
Q: This is your first video game-related project. How does appearing in front of a film or television camera differ from working with a motion capture camera? What does such a set look like? What was the atmosphere like, and were you able to count on support from colleagues who had previous experience with video games like Troy Baker and Roger Clark?
A: Motion capture is a whole new ball game! Having acted primarily in film and television, I am used to turning up to work and the world around me has already been created with the help of set builds, props, costume and make-up. In the volume there is nothing but your imagination. It is a tennis court sized sound stage with lots of motion capture cameras and nothing much else! Luckily our fantastically talented game designers were there to aid us in imagining that world, showing us drawings and maps of each environment and offering psychical aids in the place of items, doors, steps and so on. Having two pros acting alongside me helped massively with being able to dive straight into the shoot, knowing I could follow their lead. I had worked with motion capture before but never at this pace and detail. Roger and Troy, and the rest of the team, were incredibly generous with their advice and support. They all made what could have been a very nerve-wracking shoot, an upbeat and exhilarating experience.
Q : How do you like to spend your free time? Do you play video games yourself? If so, what are your favorite titles? In your opinion, can a game be just as effective at telling an engaging story as a movie or TV series? Are you planning to play "Fort Solis"?
A: I had a lot more time for gaming when I was younger, my brother is a big gamer, and we used to play together at home in Scotland and still occasionally do when I go home to visit. Growing up, I played a lot of Nintendo Wii and DS. I loved active games on the Wii, my dance matt and Singstar - can you guess I am a performer? Animal Crossing was one of my childhood addictions…and I hope my Nintendogs are still alive somewhere. On PlayStation, Heavy Rain was one of my absolute favourite titles because I loved the filmic experience of it and the consequences being driven completely by your choices as a player. Fort Solis’ similar cinematic experience is what really drew me to being a part of it. In some ways, I believe a game can be more effective at telling an engaging story because you have to be totally engaged as a player. The narrative is driven by your play and without you, the story stops. Whereas, when you are just watching something, you can be distracted and miss the action as it continues without you. I cannot wait to play Fort Solis - I will just have to get my hands on a PS5 before then!
Thank you for reading and this is the last article on this topic!
I hope you enjoyed it and see you tomorrow at 20:00 CEST for the release!
As part of our series of articles on women who have had an amazing impact on Fort Solis, we would like to introduce singer and songwriter Mary Komasa, who answered some questions for us.
Below is also a link to the lyric music video of her song "If You Let Me", which she wrote for Fort Solis.
Mary Komasa is a polish-born artist living in Berlin. She has released two albums : her debut produced by guy sternberg in 2015 and “disarm” produced by god colony, in 2019.
In addition to singing, she is also an active composer of film music, with credits including several Netflix series and international feature films.
Her unique style places her between classic songwriting and various experiments with orchestra, electronics, beats, but it’s always focused on a clear emotional impact.
Q: You have already created a song that was on the soundtrack of the movie, now you have written a song for a video game. Is there a difference between making music that you know is to "illustrate" someone's story and music that you create "for yourself"?
A: The gaming market has undergone a huge change in recent years. Games have become much more cinematic and sophisticated. The main protagonists of the game are no longer anonymous. We want to immerse ourselves in their inner world. I never write songs only for myself. I always imagine a world behind my lyrics. The atmosphere of “Fort Solis” has provided me with a great amount of inspiration, especially since I’ve always dreamt of working on a science fiction project.
Q: As a performing artist, you certainly don't have much time for entertainment, but when there is a free moment, how do you like to spend it? Do you play video games yourself? If so, what are your favorite titles? Will you check out "Fort Solis" when it comes out? Can games ever replace movies or TV series in the field of telling engaging stories?
A: Video games were part of my adolescence. I binged on many classic titles. I know I could easily fall through the rabbit hole again, which is why I try to keep a distance… but I will definitely play “Fort Solis” as soon as it’s released. I don’t think we need to make a choice between games and other narrative forms. In my opinion, games are on the way to becoming an art form equal to films and TV series, but an independent one. I don’t see a reason for competition, especially as there are many recent examples of synergy between them.
Q: What inspired the lyrics for "If You Let Me" song how do you approach writing lyrics for songs?
A: I begin my writing process by asking myself intimate questions and wondering if my answers will resonate with the outside world. I am always looking for lyrics which have a narrative quality. I want to tell a story through my words, but I always get inspired by images. "Fort Solis” provided me with such powerful visions.
Q: How did you come up with the music itself, who also worked on the Fort Solis song?
A: I have no rational control over my composing process. I wait and digest emotions, images and situations, and when I feel a strong urge, I run to the nearest instrument or even my phone and start singing, playing, recording. If the song is really there, it will be ready in its primal form in a couple of minutes. There is always a huge library of ideas stored in my imagination, and they just come up to the surface if there is a strong impulse.
I am really privileged to be able to work with some of the best musicians and music creators in the world. A lot of effort and talent was put into this song. I began by sitting down with my husband Antoni, with whom we always transform the preliminary form of the composition into an actual arrangement. We draw on our common film music experience, which helps us to focus the music production on the emotional effect. In our next step, we assembled an absolutely world-class group of people to produce the song.
The recording and mixing engineer, who also contributed to the production of the song, is Victor Van Vugt. If you look him up online, you will see an endless string of absolutely cult albums created by him, including most of the work by PJ Harvey and Nick Cave, as well as albums by Depeche Mode, The Pogues... Victor is a good friend and an extremely generous artist who always finds time for our projects.
The drums were performed by another living legend, Earl Harvin (Tindersticks, Air, Robbie Williams, Jeff Beck, Pet Shop Boys…). He is one of the best drummers in the world, and by working with him, we quickly learned why: his groove, the combination of heaviness and finesse, the way he melts into the arrangement, and yet remains original and free… there is no-one like him.
And another huge contributor to the song: Slowey Thomsen, the go-to bassist in Berlin, who gave the song this amazing oomph…
Thank you for reading! We hope you've enjoyed it, and we will have our last article on the same subject this week. See you soon!
With Fort Solis launching on the 22nd of August, you are invited to join the official Dear Villagers Discord to meet other players, developers and share the hype!
As one of our Villagers on Discord, you can:
Share your thoughts, ideas and suggestions with the developers
Regular Giveaway of the Dear Villagers' games
Plant the tree with us!
What if I don't want to join the Discord?
It's up to you! You can also share your thoughts, ideas and suggestions with the developers and other players in the Steam Community Hub!
