We are back with another update on the situation of our game.
Progress on the console ports is steady, but we still have a loooong way to go. We’ll share more once we have something more substantial. Sadly, we can’t really show you any progress on tape as it is strictly under NDA.
However, we can share that on the next generation consoles, we can already run the game on the highest quality settings in 4k resolution maintaining a steady 60 FPS. The biggest problem is going to be the Nintendo Switch, which is currently lagging behind at 12 FPS.
Console play will also support crossplay between all the gaming platforms involved so you’ll be able to play with others no matter where they own and play the game. That is also why it’s taking us this long to introduce better security measures for multiplayer to stop people from ruining others’ games by joining and taking all their hideout equipment and stored items in public lobbies.
We plan on implementing a timer for guests that will make it impossible for them to mess around with the host's stuff until they’ve played with them for a while. Host will also be able to manage the players on the server and kick or ban them. We’d have to reimplement these after changing the multiplayer structure to allow for crossplay, so we’d rather just do it once.
We’d also like to stress out that optimizing the game for consoles will help the game run smoother on PCs as well. Many changes and improvements we are currently working on will lead to shorter loading times (especially on HDDs), less RAM requirements and better stability.
Apart from console ports, we’ve also been working hard on implementing new features, based on feedback and requests from our community. You can read about them in more detail in the dedicated patch notes - especially about big fixes and smaller improvements.
The biggest additions coming in this update are changes to calamities making them more intensive, but shorter, the option to call for early elections (if the player has enough votes), and optional hardcore modes for greater challenge. Yes, hardcore modes plural - basic hardcore mode eligible for multiplayer play, and hardcore+ mode restricting the game to singleplayer and featuring permadeath. You’ll find more detailed information about the hardcore mode restrictions in the patch notes.
We are also getting a lot of questions about language availability and when the game is going to be translated into more languages. Thing is, our original system of community translations was very improvised and we definitely cannot use it on a larger scale. Currently, implementation of translations requires our input and a new build for any changes to take effect - managing that with multiple languages is going to get complicated.
Right now, we are researching the possibility to allow for translations to be added as Steam Workshop mods. And who knows, maybe we won’t stop with just translations ;)
That is going to be all for May. See you at the end of June!
- Perun Creative
Going Forward
Hello, everyone! ːsteamhappyː
We are back with another update on things to come. Our last statement addressed these issues somewhat, but we now have much clearer vision that we can share with you all!
First, we’d like to thank you for the awesome release. We are aware that it was a bumpy ride at times and we absolutely appreciate your patience, help, and cooperation with reporting and fixing bugs. Thank you. We’ll continue doing our best improving the game going forward.
But what does that mean? We have a light roadmap here to help with the explanation.
Are there going to be more updates?
Yes. We are not done and plan on introducing new features, fixes and Quality-of-Life improvements to the game. However, beginning in May, the updates will be much less frequent - happening only about once a month. As much as we’d like to deliver them to you faster, we need to multi-task and provide support while also working on console ports and a new project.
What’s the news on console ports?
They will happen. We’ll be making the ports ourselves (instead of outsourcing), so it will take quite a lot of time and focus away from other tasks. The game will be ported to all major consoles - Xbox (One, One X and Series X), PlayStation (PS4, PS4 Pro, PS5), and Nintendo Switch. It is an ambitious goal, but we already have some very promising attempts.
Hold up, new project?
YES! After almost a week of deliberations we have arrived at a consensus. We now have a clear direction for the new project and our designers are already starting work on pre-production. We can’t tell you more at the moment, but it is going to be very exciting. As soon as we have anything to share, we will!
What’s going to happen to the developer streams?
We started streaming to showcase new updates and improvements prior to releasing the 1.0 version and leaving Early Access. They can obviously no longer fill that role, but we’ve found a solution. Our developer streams will now be officially charity streams! As with the updates, they will be less frequent (once every two weeks), but to make up for that, they will be longer.
Our community manager will play through the game with various self-imposed challenges, and you can make his task even harder with donation incentives. We are currently raising money for Shelter. You can find details about the campaign here:
Features: - added new NPC "Stink" that sells some of the most coveted items (for outrageous prices). You gotta find him first though. - lightning near Drax and Shrug improved - added animation to a character change and fixed the activation spot - added a conversation option to not ask drunk Hobos for money (for RP reasons)
Fixes: - fixed some colliders and poorly placed props - issue with dumpster diving UI getting stuck on screen if approached by an NPC fixed - issues with unresponsive combat fixed - playpen fixed - some floating interact icons fixed - fixed containers in Guzzler lair - exploit where clothing would be repaired after intentionally failing the minigame - hideout stash fixed and it is now possible to place more than 100 in the stash at once - fixed replacing props in hideout - season transition no longer removes Luke's addiction - fixed issues after choosing a character and connecting to a game - fixed the price of coke in the bistro - fixed issue with getting beat up while trading with other player - fixed Bruno's request of Calling Off the thugs - unused lockers deleted - Payour now pays only once during the shakedown quest for Leos - tooltip about permanent bonuses from Fester's recipes removed - Ski Mask removed from the player inventory if it is not used as evidence against him - fixed activation triggers for royal quests - fixed navigation and activation triggers for Praslavian Legends quest
Patch notes 1.00.019
Features: - smoother camera transitions - slight improvement to loading times - loading bar added before intros - added option to adjust brightness - added option to adjust FOV - added option to lock FPS - adjusted the volume of the intro movies - Maisner now teaches recipes during his quests like he used to - improved global illumination and reduced the number of lighting artefacts - added option to change audio source (stereo, quad, 5.1) - added more portraits to 2D interiors
Fixes: - TO UNLOCK OLDSTER: You have to read 30 books while using the Study hideout equipment. There is a mistake in the description and will be fixed as soon as we can add in new translations. - fixed display of the number of days in the diary - Early Access banner in the menu removed (big oof there) - fixed visuals of the conversation minigame - fixed sleeping on a bus stop near the train station - some NPCs repositioned - fixed location reset in quest Praslavian Legends - fixed keybind tooltips not updating until the game reset - fixed inability to sell canned beer in bulk to Jenkins (please report any other items that cannot be sold in bulk to him) - fixed interact button at the car wreck in the pit - fixed issue when opening inventory from the organizer (map screen) that would lead to a GUI lock - conversation with Frank fixed - selling to Anatoly made more convenient, selling now does not return you to the root menu, but only to the item selection menu - fixed the requirements for the use of the Strategy perk in the conversation with a police officer - fixed the incorrect position of the map marker for the sewer clean up temp job - unused interaction icons for removed loot locations deleted - soft lock with the Martyr quest fixed by using alternative way to obtain the Golden Cross from Marty (high level stealing required) - Playpen fixed - fixed the issue with number 11 disappearing in the construction menu - fixed issue where current (not max) willpower would drop to 2 if player had more while quitting the game - fixed Discord link in the menu - *spoiler alert* fixed the quest Praslavian Legends where the quest would not continue after taking picture of the Golem - fixed issue where the client players couldn't select a character - fixed behavior of the bus stops on the gamepad - fixed issue with video encoding of the intro movies on Windows 7 - fixed lightning in the pit - fixed issue with doubled dialogue when asking about the Legendary whiskey at the bar Spark
Release 1.0
Hello, everyone! ːsteamhappyː
The day has come! We are proud to announce that Hobo: Tough Life is leaving Early Access after almost 4 years of development. Version 1.0 is now publicly available for everyone to enjoy.
What has changed since the 0.9 version released more than half a year ago? If we were to list every single thing, the list would be way too long. You can look forward to an expanded soundtrack, improved graphical fidelity and visual effects, a plethora of new ambient sounds, new areas of the city and much much more!
Important disclaimer! Although saves from older versions of the game are technically compatible, we can’t guarantee they will work 100 % correctly in all cases. Version 1.0 uses a different version of the engine. Many mechanics/quests have been adjusted or reworked, and numerous items were either removed or changed.
We STRONGLY suggest starting a new game, especially if you are interested in earning achievements (as some of them do not unlock retroactively). We realize this might be inconvenient or disappointing to some of you, but it is simply impossible to account for every possible save game scenario out there.
Does this mean that we are done with Hobo? Not at all! We’ll most likely take a short break following the release to recuperate. Once we gather our strength, we’ll be back with more updates, patches, and bugfixes. We would like to get the game translated into even more languages (let us know in the comments which languages you would like!). We’ll be adding more improvements and features based on player feedback that did not make it into this version. These updates probably won’t be too frequent or loaded with features as much as the early access updates were, but they will come! We’ll also be working on console ports. They should be done by the end of the year, if everything goes according to plan.
Parallel to our post-launch support for Hobo, we’ll also be starting work on our next project soon. We can’t really share any details right now, but there are a couple of ideas already floating around the office.
All in all, we have learned much while working on Hobo. It was our first project and it definitely won’t be our last. We’ll do our best to learn from our mistakes and do our best in the games to come!
It has been an exhausting journey and we would not have made it without the support of our families, friends, and you, our fans and players of our game! To every single one of you - THANK YOU! We are grateful for all your help.
We’ll see you once we have had a bit of sleep and a meal or two.
Stay safe!
Pre-release stream!
Join us in our today's last pre-release lives stream! ːsteamhappyː
Our community manager will playthrough the game, while answering your questions regarding the game.
Patchnotes 1.00.015
New features: - optimizations for the Ludicrous graphic level - optimization of vegetation for low and medium settings - improved vegetation rendering for all quality levels - tree colliders slightly improved - optimization of vegetation (15-20 % improvement in FPS) - added decals and decorations into the Hall of Kings - added fire barrels and banners into the Hall of Kings (banners during the elections) - added decals in the Fort - added decals in Marty's den - added decals in sewers - added "decor" in the sewers, clean up tied to a minigame - added decals around Ghaul's shack - added new temp jobs in call center and in sewers (rest of the new temp jobs should be correctly locked for now) - increased luminosity of the flashlight - volumetric effects (lights for example) now slowly fade in and out - clock added to default HUD, in inventory you can also see the current day - new menu scenery - including different character positions during rainstorms
Fixes: - fixed positioning of oysteroids and Mr. Mrazek to avoid collisions with the new greenery - fixed NPC positioning at Drax's place - fixed a hole in the map near the edge of the pit - fixed combat near the train station - fixed error when changing from regular announcements to the calamity announcements at the train stations - fixed collider near Furgrim - fixed a sheet of metal sticking through a wall - fixed some positioning and missing props - confiscated contraband should now correctly appear in Kvapil's "buy back" window - fixed LOD in the pit - fixed illumination of dynamic objects (NPCs, trees, etc.) - fixed Herold's voice - fixed props around Ghaul's place - fixed police (and NPC civilian guards) inactivity during player conversations - police now reacts to player stealing, selling drugs or attacking NPCs, as they should - cleaning up sewage in the sewer clean up temp job now adds stink - snowing now correctly lowers Dryness - fixed colliders (Shrug, building a toilet in the hideout) - fixed map navigation for Call Center and Sewage Clean Up temp jobs - fixed some missing quest progress rewards in the call center - industrial bin near Drax deactivated - fixed mapping of cars - fixed streaming of decals - fixed navmesh at several places that made the places hard to traverse and caused issues with lightning - fixed selling the good stuff to Tough NPC passersby - lowered the price of selling to Tough NPC passersby - quest Stand-in now adds reputation with Father Burian (first of a few fixes that will hopefully improve the vote situation) - fixed quick slot scrolling on gamepad
1.0 almost here!
Hello, everyone!
The 1.0 release is approaching terrifyingly fast and we are working tirelessly to get everything done in time. We have a lot to share, so let’s get to it!
First off, we would like to thank everybody who took part in our beta testing and helped us find and fix many (MANY) bugs. We have received and cleared over 500 reports and we are still working on more fixes to ensure that the full 1.0 experience is as smooth as possible!
We understand that not everybody was happy with our decision to grant the beta access through our Discord (link: https://discord.com/invite/p99X2H8s7t), but we did it in order not to get overwhelmed with reports and to centralize feedback in one place.
If you decided to not get into the beta because of that, now you can do so without joining the Discord. The 1.0 beta is now available until 13th of April in the experimental beta branch on Steam. All you have to do is change your game’s version in the Betas menu. You can get there via the Properties menu from the Steam Library (after right-clicking on Hobo: Tough Life). We’d still be glad if the reports of any found bugs go through Discord, but we understand if you don’t want to make an account because of that.
We have also managed to produce a limited amount of physical copies of Special and Collector editions that will be available predominantly on Czech and Slovak markets. Distribution in other countries is still in the talks, but the global pandemic situation makes negotiations about any physical merchandise difficult. However, shops that will carry these editions in CZ/SK have international reach, so you should be able to order from them, if you are interested in owning a physical copy of our game.
That said, here is a tiny bit of bad news. Game’s amount of content and polish have increased considerably in 1.0 version compared to the early development. Because of that, we have decided to increase the price of the final version from 16,79 EUR to 20,99 (or from roughly 20 USD to 25).
That is all for now. We’ll see you on 13th of April!
Stay safe!
1.0 Beta testing
Hello, everyone! ːsteamhappyː
The release of the experimental beta build is here!
It has been available since Tuesday on our Discord, but to make the amount of bug report manageable, we’ve decided to make an official announcement only after we fixed some of the most glaring issues.
It has been an ordeal, but we believe the build is mostly ready for rigorous testing. Bear in mind, not all features have been fully implemented and will be added gradually during the testing period. These include:
Certain decals (e.g. leaves or manhole covers) Grass and shrubs (trees are in the game but have no colliders) Weather sound effects NPC voices and voice lines will be expanded and improved Some quests are not fully implemented yet. The pit is awaiting a serious face-lift Construction interface is temporary Expanded soundtrack with location appropriate tracks Gameplay balancing (will be adjusted based on player feedback)
Now, the most important part. How do you get into the beta? You’ll need a password. The password is available on our official Discord server. You’ll find it in the “1.0 Beta Testing” category.
Once you have the password, you’ll have to open Steam, right-click Hobo, select “Properties” and then “Betas”. Put in the password there, click check and then confirm to enter “experimental_unstable” beta. The update will then be downloaded shortly afterwards.
If you find any bugs during the testing phase, please report them preferably on our Discord in the appropriate channels. Thank you!
Now, go play the game!
- Perun Creative
Man Plans, Lockdown Laughs
Hello everyone,
we’ve got a bit of unfortunate news. Beginning yesterday, our government is prolonging the state of emergency and tightening lockdown even more. Up until now, offices could stay open, but under the new restrictions offices are being closed down as well. Home office is mandatory wherever possible. Citizens are not allowed to leave districts for any other than work or family related reasons.
That means we have to get equipment from our offices, bring it home, and make sure everything works correctly. Additionally, we are working on tasks that require meeting in person (like doing improved voice work). That is no longer possible. We predict that abiding by the new restrictions will slow down our workflow somewhat. The state of emergency is said to be in effect for the next three weeks, but that is honestly something our government's been saying for the past six months.
We are still on track for the public beta of the 1.0 update on 8th of March - that is still happening. However, the final release will have to be pushed back by exactly two weeks to April 13th to account for any possible delays. Believe us, we are not happy about it, but there is nothing we can do about the current situation.
We will keep you posted and inform you of any changes that might come up.
