As the apex of genetic bio-engineering, the Malacosm has six brain lobes and a predicted IQ in excess of 2000. It is capable of asexual reproduction, teleportation, phasing through solid matter, and mind control.
The basic Malacosm variant has three pairs of upper limbs tipped with claws and capable of basic motor functions. Its lower limbs are composed of a main tentacle and 7 ancillary ones, which the Malacosm uses for water-based locomotion. On land, it uses its advanced control over its own density and thus gravity to ‘float’ above the ground.
Its olfactory senses are limited outside of aquatic environments; on land, it relies more on its eyesight and telepathic abilities to navigate. It is still uncertain at this time to what extent it can apply its powers of matter and mind manipulation to other living creatures, but preliminary testing indicates that its powers are significant.
2 CAPABILITIES
For ease of examination and testing, our lab and field teams have classified the capabilities of the Sparrowlock specimens into four broad categories: offensive, sensory, locomotive, and specific.
2.1 OFFENSIVE
By dint of its physical features alone, the Malacosm does not display a particular capability or aptitude for violence or carnage. Whilst its longest pair of upper limbs are equipped with long, flesh-rending claws, the specimen is neither particularly fast nor strong.
In a numeric comparison against the other two viable specimens currently housed at Sparrowlock, the Malacosm is comparable with the Bhagra, but weaker than the Brute.
2.2 SENSORY
This is where the Malacosm begins to outpace our other specimens and starts to display its heightened intelligence and powers of matter manipulation.
The organism is capable of tapping into the mind of the nearest living being, hijacking their sensory suite to perceive the world as the victim for a few seconds; they can tap into visual, auditory, and olfactory signals that their victim is receiving, and use these cues to narrow down their location once they relinquish the telepathic link.
The Malacosm uses this power to devastating effect when it hunts, especially in conjunction with its locomotive ability.
2.3 LOCOMOTIVE
In order traverse open space and ambush its prey, the Malacosm utilises its swift asexual reproduction. Whilst this was initially encouraged in genetic variations of the specimen in order to facilitate a quick rate of mutation and testing, the evolved organism has harnessed it for its own devices.
The Malacosm can quickly birth a genetic clone of itself which is incapable of attacking or moving in the first few hours of its life. The Malacosm is aware of this spawn at all times, no matter the distance or solid objects separating the two. When another living being passes by close enough for the spawn to detect it, the clone alerts the parent Malacosm through their telepathic link.
While hunting, the parent Malacosm will then ordinarily hijack this link in order to teleport back to its spawn and pursue its prey. The clone is destroyed in the process, lending credence to the current theory that this is not true ‘teleportation’, and that the Malacosm is in fact destroying and rapidly regrowing itself inside the spawn body.
2.4 SPECIFIC
In line with the rest of its suite of matter manipulation powers, the Malacosm is capable of passing through thin or delicate objects. At current time, we believe this has to do with its ability to change its own body density.
This theory would also explain its capability to ‘float’; not only above solid ground, but also whilst falling. The Malacosm has been observed gliding when falling from a great height; one explanation would be an ability to change mass and thus the effect of gravity on its body.
3 ADVANCED BEHAVIOUR
The Malacosms that we kept on the sea fort for month-long field tests developed advanced hunting techniques that distinguish them from younger, lab-bound specimens.
3.1 REFINED AMBUSH TACTICS
An experienced Malacosm observes the patterns of their prey in their environment and places their clone-spawn in an area their prey habitually traverses or gathers in, which virtually guarantees them a successful hunt.
Another tactic the advanced Malacosms have displayed is to preempt the movement of their prey and intercept them by placing their clone-spawn in their path.
3.2 REFINED TRACKING TACTICS
By utilising their knowledge of the environment and their incredible intelligence, some Malacosm specimens have learned to end the telepathic link with their victims early; presumably as soon as they recognised where their prey was located, so that they could head off in pursuit.
4 CONCLUSIONS
The Malacosm could be the defining moment in human evolution, but the current variant still displays too much mental instability to be viable as a corporate product.
Further experimentation and testing will be required to develop a stable, closed-market ready variant.
Witness Statement: Prisoner #35891
Witness Statement made to local police in [REDACTED] Interdicted by Hongsha-Miller Internal Security Services
1 - THE KIDNAPPING
Interviewer #1: “So to recap, you said you were kidnapped?”
Witness: “For the hundredth time yes, I’ve told you. I attended a mass demonstration outside the Hongsha-Miller Regional Headquarters. When I returned to the hostel I had a small meal at the bar, a couple of drinks and then I felt drowsy, really drowsy. I staggered back to my room, I don’t know if I made it that far, I can’t remember anything after that. The next thing I knew I woke up in a cage with three other people I’d never met.
Interviewer #2: “You were drinking?”
Witness: “This wasn’t some hallucination, this was real!”
Interviewer #1: “Sorry we’re listening, go on.”
Witness: “Right, so I was in this cage, it was swaying, if I had to guess I think it was being lifted from a crane. There was salt in the air and I could hear this commotion outside, people screaming and there was this deafening roar sound that I’ll never forget. The container we were in then hit the deck and the hatch swung open. We were on this decrepit old Sea Fort out in the ocean, I’m pretty sure the entire crew of this place were already dead.”
Interviewer #1: “You said a roar?”
Witness: “Yeah a roar, this place was a factory, I wasn’t there for long but I saw enough, Hongsha were harvesting Prisoners from all over the world, I walked through the cells, the surgical rooms, they were transforming people into entirely new creatures. I hadn’t explored for long when I saw it, this burning inhuman mass, us Prisoners weren’t the only ones who had broken free.”
2 - HUNTED DOWN
Interviewer #2: “Oh this was the ‘Brute Monster’ you mentioned?”
Witness: “Yeah Brute was the best way to describe it. Each time that thing roared I knew it was tracking me, it knew exactly where I was. It was stalking me and the others the whole time. I eventually realised if I hid inside Lockers or some of the Wooden Crates strewn around that prevented the Brute from detecting me. One time it found me in a locker anyway, I managed to dodge out of there, it felt like a coin toss whether I was going to live or die in that moment”
Interviewer #1: “You spoke of equipment you found?”
Witness: “There were Fire Extinguishers all over the place, if I sprayed those in the path of the Monster that slowed it down a bit. Enough to buy me a few seconds to get away. Once I found a Welder and Bolt Cutters I could open a lot more things up, Equipment Chests, Medical Cases. There were old Polaroid Cameras in the labs too, I reckon they’d been there since the 1970’s. They were only good for one flash each but those clearly blinded the Monster. There were vials of some liquid around too, which gave me an Adrenaline burst that I needed for a short time to get the hell away from that thing.”
Interviewer #2: “Toxicology found plenty in your system alright.”
Witness: “I’m not making this up!”
Interviewer #1: “You mentioned something about a power system?”
Witness: “Yeah, this Sea Fort, the whole place was falling apart, I think the team there had recently moved back or something, lots of modern equipment among all the old 1970s gear. The platform we were on immediately lost power. The four Prisoners, myself included, needed to get the Power Switches back on, there were power cables everywhere linking everything up so finding the switches wasn’t too difficult but we needed all manner of equipment to get to them, Sledgehammers, Bolt Cutters, Sticky Tape, anything we could find. We could work together too and once we did we got things done a lot faster. I don’t know how we did it but a couple of us survived long enough to get the power back on”
Interviewer #2:”What happened to the others?”
Witness: “I don’t know about one, I just heard the screams in the distance. Another Prisoner was running down a corridor and then the Brute spotted her and closed the distance in moments. I've never seen anything move like that, barreled straight through her, she never had a chance. I knew then never to get caught in the open with this thing.”
Interviewer #1: ”It was still chasing you?”
Witness: “The whole damn time, that thing never let up. I realised I was more manoeuvrable than it was, though. I could jump over railings on stairs to cut corners. I could also crouch and slide through small gaps it couldn’t fit through. I imagine there were other Monsters on that Sea Fort though that could have. There were ladders too, I don’t think the Monster had the dexterity to climb those, it was having to find these vine growths nearby it could use instead.”
3 - THE ESCAPE
Interviewer #1: “Once you got the power back up, what happened next?”
Witness: “There was a second platform that could have been a power plant, or maybe it was some sort of cold storage lab, my memory is a bit hazy, the whole place seemed to be a giant labyrinth. By the time we’d got through that place I was the only one left but I could get to the Moon Pool then and once I saw that Submersible I knew I had a chance to escape. The Brute was getting stronger all the time though, the other Prisoner he just killed in one shot and then I was alone with it.”
Interviewer #2: “Ah here we go, your big final showdown!”
Witness: “You weren’t there!”
Interviewer #1: “Ok, ok, let’s take a moment. So you made it to the Moon Pool at the bottom of the Fort.”
Witness: “Yes, there was a Helipad as well but I ended up in the Moon Pool with the Submersible and that creature. The Submersible needed some work to get it ready to go, it needed refuelling and I had to get the doors open in order to lower the sub. The Monster seemed to know what I was trying to do. Fortunately any time the Brute guarded an area I was able to find another spot where I could continue the repairs. It seemed Hongsha-Miller built redundancy into all their systems.”
Interviewer #1: “And you got the Sub moving?”
Witness: “Yes, once it was over the Moon Pool it lowered into the water and I knew I had a short window to get away, the Brute knew this too and pursued me all the way down there. It missed me by inches as I leapt into the Submersible. The Sea Fort’s computer system handled the rest of the launch, then I was out in the ocean in this metal tub. I drifted in and out of consciousness for days, weeks, I don’t know. Then that coastguard boat found me.”
Interviewer #2: “This is all complete nonsense!”
Interviewer #1: “But how do we explain that Deep Sea Submersible we found him in just floating out on the ocean. Or the scars he’s got on his back. This isn’t the first rumour like this I’ve heard of. Hongsha are definitely up to something.”
Witness: “You have to believe me, that thing is still out there!”
Interviewer #1: “Can the record show that my colleague has just left the room to take a phone call. Interview will resume in a few minutes.”
Witness: “Please, help me!”
Interviewer #2: “This interview has been terminated at 0241 hours.”
Monstrum 2 is OUT NOW
Monstrum 2 is officially out of Early Access!
Monstrum 2 is an asymmetric PvP game for those looking to take survival horror to the next level. Pit yourself against a terrifying monster as a team of up to 4 human prisoners, locked in a tactical struggle to escape a decrepit sea fortress, or play as one of the many horrifying monstrosities hunting them down.
Use your wits and cunning to navigate a complex, procedurally generated metal labyrinth that changes layout, puzzles, items, and obstacles with each playthrough, keeping each match dynamic for humans and monsters alike.
Keep up with the latest news
We share news and information across any and all of our social platforms, but the ones where we're the most active are Discord and Twitter
See you in Sparrowlock!
Monstrum 2 Release Patch Notes
Ahoy there,
This is it, Monstrum 2 is finally launching out of Early Access tomorrow! We hope you're ready for a brand-new building, more balance changes than we've ever done before, and a ton of bug fixes!
Without further ado lets take a look at the full and complete patch notes for Monstrum 2 version 1.0.0!
Season 5 Reward Content
NEW SEASON 5 COSMETIC CONTENT AND NAME PLATES
Season 5 will be going live on Tuesday, 6th of September, the same day as the 1.0.0 version of the game. It will include new tracks of unlockable rewards for each character type as well as some content that will be released directly into the games Store.
SEASON 4 CONTENT MOVE
With Season 5 going live all the Season 4 content that was present in the Season Tracker will be getting moved over to the Store. Any content players haven’t earned through the Season Tracker when Season 4 ends on Monday, 5th of September will then be able to be purchased with Monstrum Credits in the Store.
END OF EARLY ACCESS BONUS MONSTER SKIN
All players who logged in at least once before Tuesday, 6th of September, 2022 will receive the Exclusive Black Ice Brute Skin! Eligible players will find the skin located in their inventory by Wednesday, 7th of September, 2022.
REMOVAL OF ROADMAP BUTTON
We’ve taken the Roadmap button off the Main Menu list. We are still planning on updating Monstrum 2 with additional Seasons beyond the launch day but with the games localization now held to a higher standard of polish beyond early access we cannot easily localise the Roadmap content before each update. As opposed to only displaying the Roadmap in-game in English we’ve opted instead to communicate future updates via Junkfish and Monstrum 2 socials.
Steam Achievements
We have added 20 Achievements to the game to challenge yourself to get them all. There are achievements that are unique to Prisoner and to each Monster, and have short and long term goals. Each achievement has detailed artwork to represent it.
More achievements are planned for future updates.
New Map Content
NEW STAGE 2 CRYONICS BUILDING
A major feature of the Monstrum franchise has been randomization in the environment. For Monstrum 2 we have split the Sea Fort environment up into three main platforms with buildings that can swap out, however the middle stage featuring the Power Plant has always remained the same. The new Cryonics building adds variety to Stage 2 so now there is a 50/50 chance every game of either getting the Power Plant or Cryonics:
Cryonics is a cold storage area where genetic samples from deceased Monsters are stored after they’ve been dissected in the Morgue.
The building is split into four main rooms, Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, and Delta, each of which features a large central Coolant Tank surrounded by samples. The objective for Prisoners is to sabotage these Coolant Tanks, causing the Cryonics building to overheat and destroy decades’ worth of Hongsha-Miller’s illicit research.
A single Prisoner starting Cryonics is required to sabotage 1 of the 4 Coolant Tanks in order to proceed to the Stage 3 Escape Route.
2 or 3 Prisoners starting Cryonics are required to sabotage 2 of the 4 Coolant Tanks.
If all 4 Prisoners start Cryonics, they are required to sabotage 3 of the 4 Coolant Tanks.
As usual, the Monster’s role is to interfere with the Prisoners’ attempts to complete Stage 2 and kill them.
As each Coolant Tank is sabotaged the lights in the room change from a cool blue hue to a dark red to let other Prisoners and the Monster know this room is complete. The Biological samples stored in the room also react.
When the required number of Coolant Tanks are destroyed (Prisoner count dependent) all the Coolant Tanks overheat.
Each of the four Coolant Tank rooms have two possible puzzle configurations that will randomly spawn in to add variety, these puzzles involve similar mechanics found elsewhere in the game such as finding codes, inserting fuses, welding valves, etc.
Sound effects pass for new Stage 2: Cryonics.
BREAKABLE HIDING CRATES
In previous updates of Monstrum 2 we had metal crates with a bluish purple colour that Prisoners could crawl inside and hide from the Monster. This led to the issue where the Brute and Malacosm could not easily reach down and attack Prisoners, even if the Monster player knew that a Prisoner was hiding inside that crate. We have reintroduced this mechanic with a new wooden crate type:
The wooden crates have one open side with a cloth tarp cover. Prisoners can crawl inside through the tarp. Once inside they will be invisible to the Monster.
All Monsters can destroy these crates in a single hit, potentially exposing a Prisoner crouching inside.
Other Prisoners cannot break these Hiding Crates with Sledgehammers.
These new wooden crates are evenly spread around all buildings and exterior areas in the Sea Fort.
MOON POOL CHANGES
Some polish work has been done in the Moon Pool:
New Escape Route Music for Sub Escape.
Decorative assets added throughout tunnel sections and vehicle lowering shaft.
Gameplay Updates
BASE COMPUTER TANNOY
We have had a longstanding feature in the game where a robotic base computer would give updates as the Prisoners progress altered systems throughout the Sea Fort:
Numerous new Tannoy audio lines were added throughout the game.
PROXIMITY HEARTBEAT SOUNDS REMOVAL
The heartbeat system was an indicator to Prisoners when the Monster was getting close to them:
With the implementation of new audio systems we felt that the proximity heartbeat was no longer necessary and have removed it from the game entirely.
LOBBY CHANGES
We were noticing that players were leaving the game early when they are dead or when the game has ended in the Return To Lobby phase, but would attempt to rejoin a game with the same people. For convenience we have made it so lobbies stay together after the game is over:
When a game has finished, all lobbies will return to the lobby screen with all the remaining players of the game still there. You will no longer return to the Main Menu.
If you wish to play with other players, leaving that lobby and requeueing is still possible.
POWER SWITCH ACTIVATION TIMES
As part of a wider effort to improve balancing at lower player counts we have adjusted the Power Switch activation times making them much faster for a lone Prisoner but in larger (three or four Prisoners) games, the Monster now has more opportunity to intercept switches in progress:
Power Switch activation times are now much more spread out depending on Prisoner Player counts. This applies to player counts at the start of Stage 1 so if four Prisoners start Stage 1 and two are killed off, the remaining two Prisoners will still need 8 seconds to pull the remaining switches:
Power Switch Activation Time for 1 Prisoner - 2 seconds (was 3 seconds)
Power Switch Activation Time for 2 Prisoners - 4 seconds (was 3.5 seconds)
Power Switch Activation Time for 3 Prisoners - 6 seconds (was 4 seconds)
Power Switch Activation Time for 4 Prisoners - 8 seconds (was 4.5 seconds)
STAGE TIMERS
Some minor adjustments have been made to the in-game timers at each stage. The goal of these changes is to take some time pressure off the Prisoners in 1vs1 or 2vs1 games so those players have more time to elude the Monster and complete objectives. Stages 2 and 3 have both had more time granted for all Prisoner counts. These times are set depending on how many Prisoners are alive when each stage begins:
Stage 1 - Activate the Power Switches
Stage 1 allotted time for 1 Prisoner - 20 minutes (was 18 minutes)
Stage 1 allotted time for 2 Prisoners - 18 minutes (was 17 minutes)
Stage 1 allotted time for 3 Prisoners - 16 minutes (unchanged)
Stage 1 allotted time for 4 Prisoners - 15 minutes (unchanged)
Stage 2 - Repair Power Plant Generators or Shut Down Cryonics Tanks
Stage 2 allotted time for 1 Prisoner - 15 minutes (was 10 minutes)
Stage 2 allotted time for 2 Prisoners - 13 minutes (was 9 minutes)
Stage 2 allotted time for 3 Prisoners - 11 minutes (was 8 minutes)
Stage 2 allotted time for 4 Prisoners - 9 minutes (was 8 minutes)
Stage 3 - Prepare Submersible or Helicopter
Stage 3 allotted time for 1 Prisoner - 13 minutes (was 10 minutes)
Stage 3 allotted time for 2 Prisoners - 11 minutes (was 9 minutes)
Stage 3 allotted time for 3 Prisoners - 10 minutes (was 8 minutes)
Stage 3 allotted time for 4 Prisoners - 9 minutes (was 7 minutes)
Stage 4 - Escape onboard Submersible or Helicopter
Stage 4 allotted time for 1 Prisoner - 90 seconds (unchanged)
Stage 4 allotted time for 2 Prisoners - 80 seconds (unchanged)
Stage 4 allotted time for 3 Prisoners - 70 seconds (unchanged)
Stage 4 allotted time for 4 Prisoners - 60 seconds (unchanged)
MISSIONS AND OBJECTIVES
Submersible Escape- Hoist Mission In order to further balance the game for lower Prisoner matches (1v1 and 1v2) the Hoisting Mission in the Submersible escape has had its times adjusted:
Helicopter Escape - Crane Mission In order to further balance the game for lower Prisoner matches (1v1 and 1v2) the Crane Movement Mission in the Helicopter escape has had its times adjusted:
Stage 3 Crane Movement Mission for 1 Prisoner - 10 seconds (was 15 seconds)
Stage 3 Crane Movement Mission for 2 Prisoners - 15 seconds (was 20 seconds)
Stage 3 Crane Movement Mission for 3 Prisoners - 25 seconds (was 22.5 seconds)
Stage 3 Crane Movement Mission for 4 Prisoners - 30 seconds (was 25 seconds)
ITEMS
Adrenaline To combat Adrenaline being an instant, uncounterable way of gaining speed in a chase the time to administer Adrenaline has been increased:
Adrenaline use time increased to 1.6 seconds (was 0.2 seconds)
Health Kits To reduce the effectiveness of healing in higher Prisoner count games, we have increased the length of time it takes to heal. To increase survivability in 1v1 games the time it takes to heal has been reduced:
Vs 1 Prisoner - 3 seconds (was 5 seconds)
Vs 2 Prisoners - 5 seconds (unchanged)
Vs 3 Prisoners - 7 seconds (was 5 seconds)
Vs 4 Prisoners - 9 seconds (was 5 seconds)
Tape To slightly slow down the rate that 3 and 4 Prisoner games progress, the tape use time has been increased:
Vs 1 Prisoner - 1 second (unchanged)
Vs 2 Prisoners - 1 second (unchanged)
Vs 3 Prisoners - 2 seconds (was 1 second)
Vs 4 Prisoners - 2 seconds (was 1 second)
Boltcutters Using Boltcutters on any puzzle object has been scaled slightly based on Prisoner count:
Vs 1 Prisoner - 4 seconds (was 5 seconds)
Vs 2 Prisoners - 5 seconds (unchanged)
Vs 3 Prisoners - 5 seconds (unchanged)
Vs 4 Prisoners - 6 seconds (was 5 seconds)
Fuses Using and getting fuses has been scaled slightly based on Prisoner count:
Vs 1 Prisoner - 2 seconds (was 3 seconds)
Vs 2 Prisoners - 3 seconds (unchanged)
Vs 3 Prisoners - 3 seconds (unchanged)
Vs 4 Prisoners - 4 seconds (was 3 seconds)
STAGE 1 POWER SWITCH OBJECTIVES MORE CONSISTENT
There has been an ongoing effort to make all the Prisoner objectives in Stage 1 take longer and be more evenly difficult. We have seen in past updates that some Power Switches for example would always be targeted as the more easy / faster ones to complete:
Chain Link Fences or Wooden Boards added in front of several Power Switches.
Greater use of Fuses or Welder cords on Power Switch cases.
All switches take between 2 and 4 distinct steps to complete. There should be no more Switches that can be done with only 1 action.
AFTER ACTION REPORT
Polish work on the post game report:
New Audio Stingers for After Action Report.
SIDECHAIN DUCKING SYSTEM
The sidechain ducking system allows for smoother and more responsive volume reductions based on the volumes of other sounds. The result is a cleaner overall sound mix and allows for priority sounds to pop out of the mix when necessary:
This system has been implemented into the game for the launch update.
IMPROVEMENTS TO AUDIO ATTENUATIONS
Affects drop off rate for sounds over distance:
Spent some time polishing audio attenuation curves so that sound effects within the Sea Fort have a natural volume drop off after a specified distance.
BARRACKS / VAULT ROOFTOP CABINS
The rooftop cabins in Barracks and Vault have had ladders added to them to make the interiors of those cabins less of a dead end.
MORGUE
Windows have been added to the main room of the Morgue to give more sightlines and possible means of escape
ITEM SPAWNING
Item spawns have had changes throughout all zones to provide a better spread of items and more powerful items are more likely to spawn behind puzzles or obstructions
TUTORIALS
Mannequins no longer collide with Monsters to avoid unexpected movement caused by the collision
Monster Changes
BRUTE FACE LIGHTS
The Brute’s face light will now be blue with any blue ice skin equipped (It will remain red for the other skins for now).
MONSTER TRACKING
We were receiving feedback that Monsters in 1v1 situations were almost impossible to get away from for long enough to do anything, as Monsters would be able to have long periods of tracking ability through the walls. For this reason we have changed our perspective from helping the Monster locate a single Prisoner to get interactions to a more quick tracking approach:
Brute Roar Tracking Duration
Vs 1 Prisoner - 3 seconds (was 10 seconds)
Vs 2 Prisoners - 4 seconds (was 9 seconds)
Vs 3 Prisoners - 6 seconds (was 8 seconds)
Vs 4 Prisoners - 7 seconds (unchanged)
Brute Roar Tracking Cooldown
Vs 1 Prisoner - 42 seconds (was 30 seconds)
Vs 2 Prisoners - 38 seconds (was 34 seconds)
Vs 3 Prisoners - 34 seconds (was 38 seconds)
Vs 4 Prisoners - 30 seconds (was 42 seconds)
Bhagra Scent Trail Tracking Duration
Vs 1 Prisoner - 3 seconds (was 7 seconds)
Vs 2 Prisoners - 4 seconds (was 8 seconds)
Vs 3 Prisoners - 6 seconds (was 9 seconds)
Vs 4 Prisoners - 7 seconds (was 10 seconds)
Bhagra Scent Trail Tracking Cooldown
Vs 1 Prisoner - 35 seconds (was 26 seconds)
Vs 2 Prisoners - 32 seconds (was 29 seconds)
Vs 3 Prisoners - 29 seconds (was 32 seconds)
Vs 4 Prisoners - 26 seconds (was 35 seconds)
Prisoners will be alerted when the Bhagra uses their tracking ability via a noise cue coming from the Bhagra. This vocal cue has a range of 30m.
Malacosm Clairvoyance Cooldown
Vs 1 Prisoner - 32 seconds (was 20 seconds)
Vs 2 Prisoners - 38 seconds (was 20 seconds)
Vs 3 Prisoners - 24 seconds (was 20 seconds)
Vs 4 Prisoners - 20 seconds (unchanged)
MALACOSM - CLAIRVOYANCE
With the most recent change to the Clairvoyance ability it came to our attention that the initial head rotation at the start of the ability could be used to quickly gain information for the general direction of the closest Prisoner. To prevent this, the Clairvoyance Ability has undergone a slight rework to achieve the original desired effect but also giving the Malacosm a strategic choice:
Malacosm will no longer turn their head at the beginning of the Ability.
Malacosm will immediately see through the eyes of the closest Prisoner.
Malacosm will turn to face their target if the ability has been used for more than 1.5s.
The rotation will take 0.75s and the Malacosm will not be able to move until it is completed.
If the Prisoner was hiding in a locker, the Malacosm will not look in their direction but instead look down and will not be able to move until the camera movement is complete.
If the ability was cancelled before 1.5s has elapsed, the Malacosm will not face the direction of the Prisoner but will be able to move immediately.
Sound cue for when a Prisoner has been targeted by this ability has been altered.
MALACOSM - MOVEMENT SPEED
In response to player feedback, we’ve slightly lowered the speed of the Malacosm to bring it back in line with its role as the strategic Monster and thus make sure each Monster maintains its unique style and gameplay:
Base speed - 3.1m/s (was 3.2m/s)
Sprint speed - 4.65m/s (was 4.8m/s)
BHAGRA - DAMAGE OUTPUT
In order to balance the games for different Prisoner counts, we’ve tweaked the Bhagra’s damage output to help it catch up with the other Monsters in 1v3 and 1v4 Prisoner matches:
To make the Bhagra a little more threatening in 4v1 and 3v1 games the cooldown of the Bhagra’s lunge have been reduced to all more lunges to be made and to help prevent cooldown frustrations:
Vs 1 Prisoner - 15 seconds (unchanged)
Vs 2 Prisoners - 12.5 seconds (was 14.25 seconds)
Vs 3 Prisoner - 10 seconds (was 13.5 seconds)
Vs 4 Prisoner 9 seconds (was 12.75 seconds)
BHAGRA - CEILING WALK COOLDOWN
Previously to prevent an exploitation that could be done with the Bhagra ceilings and attacking we added a long cooldown between being able to go to the ceilings. This was a bit too much and reduced the overall effectiveness of the Bhagra so the cooldown has been reduced from 10s to 7s in all game modes.
MONSTER AUDIO UPDATES:
These are to help better communicate Monster actions to players as well as general polish:
New Bhagra sound effects.
New Stinger for when Malacosm uses clairvoyance on a Prisoner.
Improved Brute Ground Pound sound effect.
STATE MIXING SYSTEM UPDATES
We can dynamically control the audio mix based on certain situations of the game. We have been using this for a while but we’ve introduced some new ones and improved on some existing ones:
Hidden State: The biggest change is a new audio mix state for when you are Hidden. So crawl into a crate or go into a locker to get an unique audio mix that prioritises Monster sounds.
Bhagra Scent Trail: we have made some improvements to the audio mix state for when the Bhagra Scent Trail is active. You only hear this when playing as the Bhagra.
User Interface
GENERAL
Pressing Escape now functions as a “Back” button through various menus.
Uploaded all new nameplates.
Pause UI ping position moved.
CROSSHAIR/HINTS UI
The crosshair/hints UI has been overhauled with updated visuals.
OPTIONS SCREEN
The look and function of the options and keybinding screen has been overhauled.
If you change (most) options, it will flag it as changed, and when leaving the menu, it will allow you to either keep or revert the changes.
The keybinding “listening” mode UI has been updated, and empty keybindings show “-” rather than “EMPTY”.
OBJECTIVE HUD
HUD markers that show you the next area to go to now no longer fade away at a certain angle when looking away from them.
EPILEPSY WARNING
Screen has been updated with new UI
SIGNING IN
Signing in screen structure has been changed with the information now being shown in the lower right corner
Rotating animation added to prevent the screen being completely static
LOCALISATION
Localisation text has been updated for all languages
CUSTOMISATIONS SCREEN
Prisoner voice selection is available on all Prisoner tabs, not just the Body Type customisation screen.
Monstrum Credits Accrual Balancing
Flawless increased to 20MC (was 15MC)
Stayed To The End decreased to 2MC (was 5MC)
Bloodbath gives 10MC
Locker Kills give 2MC
Bugs fixed
CHARACTERS:
Fixed issue where the victim of a locker kill would not go into spectate mode correctly.
The discrepancy in audio levels between host and non-host players has been resolved.
Improvements to how and when audio stingers are triggered: Chase and seen stingers should now play at more appropriate times.
Footsteps material detection improved.
Prisoners will no longer lean whilst typing a message in chat or when the pause menu is active.
Prisoners walking to the left will no longer have silent footsteps.
Fixed issue where a Brute would have no footsteps whilst climbing.
Fixed issue where the Bhagra would have no footsteps whilst climbing.
Fixed issue where the Brutes Roar audio would glitch out when climbing down a vine.
Fixed issue where Prisoner would have footsteps inside a locker.
Male and Female protestors skinning fixes.
Prisoner hats causing weird shadows to be cast fixed.
Fixed issue where the Bhagra would move faster on the ceilings when moving diagonally or when moving the camera from side to side whilst moving
Fixed issue where the Malacosm climbing a vine would cause frame drops
GAMEPLAY:
Collision changed on support pillars under various bridges and loading docks beneath the Sea Fort. Players can no longer jump down and become trapped on a lip of collision on these pillars.
ENVIRONMENT:
To avoid cutscene positioning errors, kill cutscenes have been disabled within Elevators.
Various bugs related to the spatial audio system have been fixed. There have been significant improvements and polish to the spatial audio system. Primarily cleaning up areas where directionality of audio effects were lost and also fixing bugs with the system.
Locker Grills no longer draw on top of Held items when Prisoner is in locker, but a mild (trivial) shadowing edge effect remains.
Breakable wooden windows Uvs and Material fixed so that parts and particles are Uv’d correctly.
Moon Pool: Fixed misaligned tunnel stairs and pipe not connecting to a fuel tank properly.
Helipad: Added about a dozen missing railing end cap pieces.
Helipad: Yellow Tape added on the two rooftop hatches above the upper Crane Control Station.
Helipad: Fixed several pipes that had gaps.
Power Plant: Animated Tarps clipping other geometry when they move.
Power Plant: TV monitors in the control rooms have no collision.
Power Plant: Call out tape around control room ceiling hatches.
Power Plant: Blocked area that allowed Prisoners to vault under a staircase by a generator
Suite: All stairs have content inserted into the acute angle where the back of the stairs meets the floor to eliminate awkward crouch clipping spots.
Suite: Assets added against the wrong side of a ladder in the main room.
Vault: Stop orange glow from the keycard dispenser giving away the required safety deposit box.
Stage 2 exterior: Removed dead end on one of the balconies.
Moon Pool: Can crawl under stairs around Elevator shaft and get permanently stuck.
Prisoner Spawn Cell: Fan Unit around the back had no collision.
Laboratory: Main room had several big purple crates floating off the ground.
Helipad Connections: Purple crates badly clipping into the wall.
Morgue: Filled in spaces under ramps.
Morgue: Filled hole behind corpse on the table in the upper room that could create a stuck spot.
Operations: Fixed several spots on both floors where Prisoners could climb up into the ceiling and clip through several layers of geometry.
ITEMS: Boltcutter cooldown begins after they have been used to avoid animations going out of sync.
OBJECTIVES / INTERACTABLES:
Added green light on any draggable trolley in the game to help call them out more. Switched green light off on any upturned trolleys that are part of the decoration pass. A couple of upright static trolleys present in Barracks and Infirmary were removed entirely.
MENU SYSTEMS / BACK END:
Removed “View Controls” keybinding, as it no longer did anything.
Fixed “View Players’ Status” keybinding.
Fixed controller navigation in the keybindings menu.
Fixed an issue with controller navigation selecting other menus in the background when in the after-action report.
Fix for incorrect game version number in the UI when switching to a gamepad.
The hitbox area for menu buttons when using the mouse is now the entire button, rather than just where the text is. This fixes an issue with button jitter when the mouse was placed in a particular spot on the menu buttons.
Fix for the language dropdown to improve stability/function.
Fixed Bloodbath not giving Monstrum Credits.
Fixed bug where the Prisoner voice selection would appear on the Brute Customisations screen
HUD
Fixed issue where the Player UI would incorrectly show that a Prisoner has 0 lives whenever they were on low health.
PAUSE MENU
Fix for being able to activate the player status menu and leaning during the pause menu.
Known Issues
CHARACTERS:
In spectate mode during a locker kill animation a prisoner can sometimes not have a head render.
When spectating a Prisoner wearing Goggles sometimes they can clip into the spectate view.
Once you've reached the max level the AAR can display negative XP values as a visual bug
If multiple Prisoners die in the same place and time they will respawn on top of one another at the same respawn point.
When the Bhagra does a locker search the camera can move erratically.
Very rarely players can still use an item after it's been dropped.
Prisoners do not always see their own kill animation play out.
Bhagra skins can appear distorted on the 3D character model in the Store.
Prisoners picking up items can cause their feet to move.
Prisoners can float above geometry for a moment when jumping.
Prisoners involuntarily jump and stutter in moving elevators when they go up.
Monsters can clip through the top of certain doorways when jumping.
Intermittent spatial audio issues when playing Bhagra
Bhagra going down stairs is not a smooth motion
Brute sometimes will not do damage with Charge at certain angles
ENVIRONMENT:
Prisoners' cameras can clip through the underside of tables.
When Monsters are watched climbing through a specific window in Morgue they will experience certain clipping / floating visual issues.
In the Helipad if the Malacosm places down a Sentinel Trap on the Helipad Elevator floor it will not rise with the Helipad Elevator.
OBJECTIVES / INTERACTABLES:
In Cryonics the Base Computer Tannoy subtitles can linger on screen
If a Prisoner uses a Health Spray in a Locker the Spray will point straight ahead instead of being sprayed into the Prisoners left palm as usual.
On the Helipad if spectating another Prisoner using a Gas Can at an Intake Station the spectate camera can drift away.
On the Stage 1 exterior balcony puzzle where Chain Link Fences and Wooden Crates need to be destroyed, destroying the first crate can also inadvertently destroy the second.
The Boltcutter icon on Chain Link Fences can remain after the fence is already fully cut.
USER INTERFACE:
Objective markers can periodically disappear at certain angles.
When changing keybindings with a Xbox type gamepad the icons will instead change to the Keyboard and Mouse set.
On the menus can get two buttons to highlight at once by leaving the mouse hovered over one while switching to another via the Gamepad.
PS4 gamepad binding icons not yet supported.
Various Signing-In and Loading messages have no animated element.
Progress Tracker current XP readout can sometimes blur.
When in spectate the currently watched Prisoners health status will not change until the spectator cycles to another Prisoner.
Item progress bars sometimes don’t fully fill before the action is complete.
Some issues with special glyph characters appearing on Tutorial signs.
Sometimes Japanese text on Tutorial signs can disappear.
Some chat notifications will be localised to the Player who created the Lobby chosen language selection
MENU SYSTEMS / BACK END:
Graphics menu can set Full screen back to true after setting it to false.
When arriving back in the lobby after a match the camera view for the Monster player can be far away before suddenly snapping close again.
When arriving back in the lobby after playing as the Malacosm the Brute will be selected in the UI but the Malacosm character will still appear in the central tank.
In the Lobby occasionally the Brutes sounds can play when the Bhagra is selected.
Party lobby indicator does not always appear for non-host players.
In the Customizations Screen selection changes don’t always reflect immediately.
Can scroll dropdown menu options with the gamepad using all four directions on the left analogue stick.
Highlight is removed after purchasing an item from the store before the player decides whether to Equip it.
In lobby, when playing with a controller, Brute Idle sound effect plays when hovering on the Brute icon
In lobby, when playing with a controller, Monster Idle sound effects stop on hovering over Monster icons
And that's everything for now! We hope you like what you see, and we can't wait for you all to get your hands on the full release tomorrow!
In the meantime, if you want to let us know what you think of the new changes, or just tell us that the Malacosm haunts your very dreams, come join our Discord: https://discord.gg/sxjFJucd
The Monstrum 2 Free Weekend Is Now LIVE
The Monstrum 2 Free Weekend is NOW LIVE!
You can look forward to a weekend jam-packed with hunting, being hunted, and of course cowering in fear from terrifying Monsters…
Here is your Monstrum Roadmap for the remainder of 2022. Our next major update will be coming in September bringing with it a brand-new building, Steam Achievements, and much more, so stay on the lookout for that!
And if you want to stay up to date or just fancy a chat, come join our Discord: https://discord.gg/dvQBh4Jj
Monstrum 2 Free Weekend
Ahoy there,
You can play Monstrum 2 for FREE this weekend!
From the 4th-7th of August, you’ll be able to join three other hapless Prisoners to try and escape from Sparrow Lock, a sea fortress home to all manner of horrible Monsters just waiting for a new plaything…
And keep your eyes peeled on our socials to find out how you might be able to win yourself a copy of the full game 👀
28/07/2022 - July Hot Fix
Ahoy there!
We have a small hot fix patch out today to fix up some issues that came with the July update.
The issues addressed were:
Fix for planks in helipad area not being breakable when they should be
Fix for Bhagra not being detected consistently by security cameras
Fix for tutorial missions localisation not changing languages from English
Fix for missing Base Computer VO subtitles
Fix for missing voices in customisations menu
Cheers,
Team Junkfish
26/07/2022 - July Update
Ahoy there!
We are here today with a much needed pass on our in-game localisation! We still have some fine tuning and a couple of phrases to cover, but overall this is a significant upgrade and the majority of missing localisation has been addressed!
There have also been a few tweaks to mission balancing and bugs, so please check out the change log below!
Gameplay Updates
LOCALISATION
Large updates to our localisation, including the following:
Server names will now localise
Store and customisation entries have been localised
Tannoy message subtitles are now localised
Missions and objectives now update on language change
Shell signs now update on language change
All interactions have been localised
Updated numerous interaction hints to standardise their presentation
Added localisation for missing menu and system text, eg. for chat, sign in messages, and keybinds
MOON POOL ESCAPE ROUTE: HOIST SUBMERSIBLE MISSION The Submersible Hoist Mission has had a rebalancing pass to ensure it provides a more consistent challenge across the various possible Prisoner counts:
Amount of time Prisoners need to to complete the mission varies depending on how many Prisoners are still alive when the Stage 3 of the match starts:
1 Prisoner is required to hoist for a total of 20 seconds
2 Prisoners are required to hoist for a total of 35 seconds
3 Prisoners are required to hoist for a total of 60 seconds
4 Prisoners are required to hoist for a total of 75 seconds
If multiple Prisoners are hoisting from different stations at the same time the total hoist time required is evenly divided:
If 2 Prisoners both held hoist stations simultaneously for the entire mission the hoist would finish in 75% of the times stated above
If 3 Prisoners both held hoist stations simultaneously for the entire mission the hoist would finish in 56% of the times listed above
If 4 Prisoners both held hoist stations simultaneously for the entire mission the hoist would finish in 42% the times listed above
HELIPAD ESCAPE ROUTE: REFUEL HELICOPTER MISSION The Helicopter Refuelling Mission has also had a rebalancing pass:
Number of Fuel Cans available in the Helipad increased by 3
Some Fuel Cans now appear on top of specific racks, making them easier to find
Time taken to pour an entire Fuel Cans worth of fuel standardised to 10 seconds, regardless of Prisoner player count
Number of Fuel Cans required to complete the mission varies depending on how many Prisoners are still alive when the Stage 3 of the match starts:
1 Prisoner is required to pour 2 Fuel cans
2 Prisoners are required to pour 3 Fuel cans
3 Prisoners are required to pour 5 Fuel cans
4 Prisoners are required to pour 6 Fuel cans
OBJECTIVE UI MARKERS
Objective markers are UI elements that appear when players approach an objective or interactive element in the Sea Fort:
Updated artwork for various world markers
PING MARKERS
The Ping Markers are UI tags that Prisoner players can place in the world to call out specific objectives, items or points of interest to other Prisoners:
Ping Markers that Prisoners can place down now last on screen for 60 seconds where previously they only appeared for 10 seconds
Changes to Map Content
ADDITIONAL MONSTER VINES
Some extra Monster Vines have been added to improve Monster navigation and prevent some exploitable areas where Prisoners could be guaranteed to lose the Monster in a chase:
Monster vine added to the Helipad between the two sets of pipe catwalks positioned around the outside of the Helipad Elevator block
Monster vine added to the upper floor of the Stage 1 Morgue Building leading up to the rooftop area
Bugs fixed
CHARACTERS:
Fixed an issue that could break spectating at the end of the Malacosm locker kill cutscene
ENVIRONMENT:
Operations: Fixed issues where some of the Red / Green Power Cables in the upper floor were not connected correctly
Updated rail collision in Tutorials to help prevent mannequins running away into the aether
Fixed an issue that caused some bindings to be missing on signs in Tutorials
Morgue: Fixed an issue where Brute and Malacosm couldn’t pass a chain fence
Helipad: Moved a crate that appears during the ‘Move the Crane’ Mission that was partially blocking Monsters
Powerplant: Fixed an issue with a vault window
OBJECTIVES / INTERACTABLES:
Fixed an issue that stopped the dynamic difficulty scaling of the Submarine Hoist and the Helicopter Refuel objectives
Barracks: Fixed an issue where a power switch light wouldn’t turn on when the switch was pulled
Fixed an issue where dead players would cause incorrect scaling of objectives between mission stages
Fixed an issue where the button for the Cryo-Coffin puzzle in Vault could be interacted with repeatedly
MENU SYSTEMS / BACK END:
Fixed Font for “Connecting…” text so it will localise correctly
Removed TXAA option from Graphics Settings as it caused visual artefacts
Fixed a controller issue that caused the keybinds menu to snap to the top when attempting to rebind a control
Known Issues
CHARACTERS:
Occasionally all characters may briefly appear headless in various cut scenes
If two or more Prisoners are killed in the same approximate location at the same time they will respawn at the same location and be clipping through one another
Some Prisoners have a visible seam on the back of their head
ENVIRONMENT:
Monsters can occasionally snag for a second on the top of yellow stairs
Examination planks not breaking, which only affects one internal puzzle where you have to break two planks of wood and weld to get to the switch.
OBJECTIVES / INTERACTABLES:
All players will shake violently when travelling in elevators and kills inside elevators tend to have significant camera clipping
AUDIO:
We are aware of some issues surrounding in-game audio. These are ongoing issues that we are working hard to fix.
Check out the roadmap in-game to see what will be coming in September as we have more features and systems in development we can't wait to share with you all! If you would like to join the discussions on our discord server, you can do so by clicking here: discord.gg/junkfish
We hope you enjoy the update!
Team Junkfish
June Hotfix Patch Notes
Hello there folks!
We have a small hotfix ready for you today that fixes a few issues with XP, speeds up how quickly the Malacosm turns towards a Prisoner during Clairvoyance, and of course adds the brand new Season 4 content!
Check out the patch notes:
Season 4 Content
Season 4 content has been added to the Season 4 Progress Track
Season 3 Progress Track content has been moved to the Store
Gameplay Updates
Malacosm
Time that Clairvoyance turns to face a Prisoner before seeing through their eyes has been reduced to 1 second (Previously 2 seconds):
Addressed issues where the Sentinel being alerted would be inconsistent
Alerted sound will only play for the Malacosm once the Sentinel went from Idle to Alerted
Fixed issues where the Sentinel would not be alerted if it was moved to a position where the Prisoner was already inside the detection range
Fixed issues where Prisoners would enter the detection range but not trigger the Sentinel
Time before a Sentinel would reset after a Prisoner has left the detection range has been reduced to 0.5s (Previously 5s)
Bhagra
Fixed issue where the Bhagra would walk on its front legs only on the top floor of the Helipad
General
Fixed issue where the Code Memorization Accessibility options would not change from their default values
Fixed an issue where the mouse and keyboard code accessibility option didn’t work in game
Fixed issue where -1MC would show up in a XP notification
Fixed issue where Buzz Kill XP award would overwrite a Prey Eliminated XP award instead of being an additional XP award
Fixed issue where MC values would not update in store
Fixed issue where the Out Of Nowhere XP Reward would be granted incorrectly
Thanks for reading
Thanks very much for all your feedback on the June update so far, we already have quite a list ready for the next one! Keep your eyes peeled for more information soon, and as usual if you have any more feedback for us, the Discord is the place to be: https://discord.gg/jy6qDT7E
