It is time for another patch, this time we focused on lots of improvements and fixes to overhaul the experience. Furthermore this serves as the groundwork for further content and new features that get implemented soon. Stay tuned for announcements and more information, you can also join our Discord Server to stay in the loop. All in all this patch adresses:
Improvements:
Big core improvement: the game now works properly on all customary monitor refresh rates > 60Hz.
Added DirectX 11 rendering to address compatibility issues.
Added V-Sync option.
Added adjustable screen and UI brightness, also screen is a little brighter by default now.
Added settings for mouse and gamepad sensitivity.
Added settings for cursor alpha.
You can now hold your breath while aiming using LSHIFT (to stabilize your aim).
Added new controls: next weapon and previous weapon swap.
Aiming at targets directly above you is working better now. No more constant side-flipping when aminig straight up.
Improved rope rendering (since we spend a lot of time handling ropes).
You can now start crawling while using your weapon, without need to holster it first.
Improved weapon handling while crawling. You can now fluently shoot even during standing up or laying down. Also you can toggle weapons while crawling or on grappling-hook (we sent our crew to Ranger school).
Nerfed Ceiling-Tentacle Monster (slower speed + visible slime). They're now easier to spot and less unforgiving.
No instant death when falling from low-ish hights, health loss instead. You can still die from falling though.
Finetuned controls to make them more responsive.
Weapons and assets from the 'Kill it with fire'-Update added to all levels.
New weapon: PKM (Currently limited to level The Interference ).
Hoist-elevator has now led indicators for the cage magnets.
You can now press and hold E to pick multiple items at once if they are close together.
To grab cliff edge or rope you can now just hold Jump key (Up key still works too).
Dynamic split-screen in CO-OP modes: When players are close enough they share single full-screen viewport.
Fixes:
Fixed: significant memory leak is removed. It was the cause of many crashes especially on challenge find-disk with large amount of monsters.
Fixed: some monsters were not saved properly in savepoints
Fixed: weapon was holstered after falling from small heights
Fixed: you cannot mount ropes in tunnels made by explosives
Fixed: item collect messages were often overlapping
Fixed: crane magnet was not always working
Fixed: monsters did not spawn in CO-OP challenge
Happy spelunking! Team Cogwheel Software and Daedalic Entertainment
Localization fix
Hello fellow explorers!
Apologies that this took langer than anticipated, but with this small hotfix all new content is now also localized in all supported languages. Thank you for playing!
Greetings from Cogwheel Games & Daedalic Entertainment
Content Update
Greetings explorers!
The summer is reaching its peak, it’s getting hot not just above the ground though, but below the sea depths as well. Hidden Deep is getting a new content update: Kill it With Fire - introducing creepy new critters, a variety of new weapons, as well as first NPCs in the game!
In the Kill it With Fire update, you’ll be able to burn new enemies like the zombie-like transmorphs and scuttlebugs to a crisp with the scorching hot flamethrower. If you’re more of a projectile-weapons kinda fellow, there’s a new shotgun, the new standard small-caliber pistol as well as a new submachine gun for you to riddle monsters with! If things are getting a little too close for comfort, you can always fall back on a crowbar. What's good enough for Mr. Freeman is good enough for our rescue team.
You’ll be able to combat the fresh hideous faces with these weapons in three horrifying new levels. You’ll also find NPCs scattered around the game, they may appear friendly for now, but there’s no telling how events will develop…
TL,DR content summary:
3 new Levels
NPCs
New weapons: Crowbar, Pistol, Submachine Gun, Shotgun, Flamethrower
New Enemies: Acid spitting creeps, cute little scuttlebugs and Transmorphs (not to confuse with zombies)
Physics overhaul (water, lighting)
Visual and level structure overhaul (new textures, background assets, acid pits, dynamic health monitor)
For now, these features are limited to the three new levels - but we are working hard to bring this improvements to the existing content as well in the near future. If you have played through the existing content of the expedition mode already, the first of the new levels is unlocked automatically via the menu point ‘Load Mission’.
Important Notes:
Due to changes to the standard equipment, mid-level save points from before the update will become unusable. Please start the according level from the beginning.
Due to complications in the localization pipeline, the new content is not available in all languages for now. We intend to have this fixed as soon as possible.
Since the game is still in Early Access, you may still encounter random bugs and glitches, please feel free to report those back to us and help us improve the experience.
Hidden Deep Update
Greetings Rescue Squad,
New caves ahead! With this patch we bring you new content and features, so prepare for the things to come with the following new introductions:
New feature: Inventory. With the amount of items and usables increasing, we implement this feature for better oversight and manageability of all the equipment needed to face the horrors below.
New feature: modular difficulty level. You can now adjust the difficulties to your liking.
Two new levels to explore (and to die in).
Inside these levels you’ll not be alone, prepare to encounter adversaries not seen before.
New music tracks to soothe your nerves while stumbling through the dark. Or not.
Also this update serves as preparation for more new stuff to come, some of it pretty soon, other a little more far away. So stay with us while we further optimize our content pipeline and hopefully increase the output in the not-so-long run.
Spooky noises in the distance intensify
Take care,
Cogwheel Software & Daedalic Entertainment
A New Patch just went live!
Hello again, dear Rescue Team!
The patch from the experimental branch is now live on default! The core feature it introduces are automatic savegames, please see the details here: Experimental Branch Blogpost In the same move we’ll update the experimental branch with another patch that should address random crashes, especially in the level Blue Mineral. If somebody of you repeatedly encounters random access violation, we would highly appreciate it if you could jump into the experimental branch and give us some feedback Experimental Branch FAQ
More and new features are already underway, also we are looking into ways to ramp up the content output. So keep an eye out for future announcements!
Best Regards, Daedalic Entertainment and Cogwheel Software
New Patch is live!
Attention Rescue Team,
A new savegame system now live in experimental branch!
To mitigate the frustration that stems from the elusive crashes we are still hunting, and to make your progress more enjoyable, we are working on an improved save system that will allow intermediate saving within the missions. A first iteration of this new system is now available, but since this is a complex feature, the roll-out will be step-by-step and for now as an opt-in function via the now publicly available experimental branch first. Here you can find a link to the according FAQ: Experimental Branch FAQ
What to expect from this feature:
Progress now should also be saved within the missions. So if you have to exit the game or encounter a crash, there should be an automatically created savegame close to the point of exit. While it is still possible that you’ll have to repeat some steps of the last session, you won’t be forced to restart the whole level. The “Continue expedition” option now should load your latest save point, close to where you left. The “Load Mission” option still lets you select a particular mission, which starts from the beginning. The new option “Load Savepoint” lists your last five automatically generated savepoints. Minor adjustments and additions in the menu structure.
Other fixes in this patch:
Implementation of indicators for "hidden" vents.
Fixed a memory leak that could lead to crashes in Challenge Mode games.
As stated, this is the first iteration of the save system overhaul. You can expect further adjustments in the future, also neighboring fields of the game design will be subject to change. Stay tuned for more, we will follow up with another announcement when we deem this patch ready for the default branch and all players.
First Hotfix Patch incoming!
Heyho rescue team,
We are so excited about all the feedback and hype you threw at us the last two days - so first a big Thank you from Wookie, and the publishing team at Daedalic, you rock!
Based on your feedback we are working to mitigate the issues you brought up. Some approaches will take more time to lead to a sustainable solution so we aimed for some initial quick fixes while we continue our effort to make the game enjoyable for all explorers and their various playstyles.
This hotfix contains the following changes:
A bug was fixed that deleted your ropes from the inventory and let you only be able to use it via the hotkey [ . ] Ropes were always meant to be unlimited and now are visable like that as well.
Reduced the time needed for weapon handling. This should make reloading/swapping/drawing faster.
Crucial items are now increased in number, and in some cases resupply got placed in the levels where needed. This is intended to mitigate the potential of softlocks while we look into further options to eliminate this issue completely.
It is now possible to reload the pistol while hanging on the grappling hook.
Adjusted the (critical) hitboxes and lifepoints of enemy creatures to reduce ammo consumption.
Obviously this is just the beginning of our journey and we are so glad that you are on board! Looking forward into the future, Daedalic Entertainment & Cogwheel Software
Hidden Deep Early Access Release!
Listen closely Rescue Team, we have a special mission ahead!
The big Early Access Release Day is here - we, that is the publisher Daedalic Entertainment, and our one-dev-army consisting of "Wookie" from Cogwheel Software - are extremely excited to lure you into the deep caves and give you finally an opportunity to find what is lurking down below - or to get found by it.
As you maybe can tell, having only a single developer for a game is relatively uncommon, so that after a lot of positive experience with Early Access, we decided for Hidden Deep as well to become one of our portfolio's (hopefully similarly successful) Early Access titles.
This means one important thing: We are here to stay - both ourselves from Daedalic covering as many bases for Wookie, so he can focus on the development of the game. We have big plans for Hidden Deep, some of those you can find in the roadmap on our steam store page. Below, you can find a list of the Early Access Release content that you can expect right now at launch.
10 levels story mode
4 challenge modes, with optional coop for two of them(Levels can be randomized with seeds - influencing the placement of Monsters and items, but not (yet) the layout): - find the data disk - clear the area - maintain the reactor - leave the sector
Local Multiplayer via Splitscreen as stated above
Online Multiplayer via Steam Remote Play Together (Check out the forum for more explanation)
After the Early Access release is done and all small issues are ironed out, a full fledged native multiplayer is one of our next big steps forward - for now the Steam Remote Play feature is an alternative to play online. Some of the things we want to tackle in the future of Hidden Deeps lifecycle, in addition to more story levels and challenge modes, are a way to implement user generated content with a level editor, more multiplayer modes, including, maybe, one day... PvP - yes, you read that right, backstabbing your friends in dark caves with monsters lurking around - don't worry too much about it for now though, it makes even more sense once you encounter the lore a bit more.
Speaking of lore - if you fall in love with Hidden Deep, or already did, you have the opportunity to dive even deeper - pun absolutely intended: Our Supporter Pack includes this time a 18 pages long graphic novel about Hidden Deep!
We hope you enjoy the release as much as we do, keep the feedback coming, and don't let the cave-bugs bite you!
Best Regards, Daedalic Entertainment & Cogwheel software
Beta is coming to an end ...
Dear Rescue Team,
Happy New Year and belated happy holidays - We here at Daedalic Entertainment and Cogwheel Software hope you had the best start into the new year you could have had!
Your feedback in the recent weeks, playing our Hidden Deep Beta has been phenomenal and extremely helpful - so much that we gave you a bit longer than the before mentioned end of Beta on the 3rd of january.
But all things have come to an end - just to make place for something better, in this case:
We are shutting down the Beta tomorrow, 5th of january, to prepare everything for the upcoming release in roughly 3 weeks from now, the 24th of january! So get your last playtime in before you have to wait again :)
Questions? Feel free to visit our Discord or write them directly below this post, we will make sure to answer them in the upcoming weeks to release!
Best Regards, Daedalic Entertainment & Cogwheel Software
Beta Update: Co-op Feature
Greetings, Rescue Team!
Thank you for participating in the Hidden Deep Playtest and for your continuous feedback! Now it’s time to share your experience and take your friends with you to forage further into the hidden depths. This update unlocks the local co-op feature for the Challenge Mode, a game mode independent from the exploration campaign. This beta will now give you access to the game mode ‘Escape the sector’, where you face obstacles and fight monsters together. More game modes will be available on release. (Talking about the release - did you see our release date announcement yet?)
Local co-op ist just the first step on our way to a native multiplayer experience, and you can already get a taste of this by playing it together with the Steam remote play feature. Important note here: Because of the limitations of shared input, you’ll need at least one gamepad to start a co-op game.
When playing local, you can assign the controls in the menu, for Steam remote play you’ll have to rely on the related settings. If you are not familiar with this feature, you’ll find a handy guide HERE.
Have fun dying exploring together!
You are not in the Beta yet? Just find this button on our Store page and sign up - we will be letting in new testers in waves relatively frequently - so don't worry if you dont get access right away.
