Necrobarista v1.0.1 is now available, containing fixes for a number of user-reported issues. If you've come across a bug or issue, or just need help with something, please contact us via the Necrobarista Discord, or email support@route59games.com.
Fixes:
Crash to desktop after splash screens
Fix based off of crash reports. If it persists, we'll continue to work on the issue.
Fix for infinite loading screen in Episode 3
Fix for reaching a soft-lock state where the word selection screen is not accessible
If a player has suffered from this and their save is currently in free-roam mode, they will need to replay their latest episode.
If you are still encountering these issues after the update, please contact us via the means listed above.
On our radar for upcoming updates:
Implementing feedback regarding inputs and settings (including mouse sensitivity options)
Implementing better support for gamepads (including look sensitivity options)
Known issues:
Rare crash on startup due to an internal engine error
Thank you for your support! Necrobarista's launch has surpassed our wildest expectations. <3
Necrobarista: Available NOW!
Wake yourself up and slam down a cup of your caffeinated beverage of choice, because Necrobarista is available on Steam RIGHT NOW. That's right: no more waiting, no more delays, no more endlessly refreshing our Twitter account—you can download it and play it this very instant.
We made it here, finally. And we're so excited for the future of the game (which we'll be talking about soon).
One little request: if you play Necrobarista, and have an opinion about it, please don't forget to leave a review. We've been working towards this for nearly five years, and we want to hear your thoughts on it!
If you run into something that breaks the game or looks obviously wrong, let us know by emailing us at support@route59games.com. We (and our publishing partners) have been testing the game extensively and exhaustively over the past year, so we're hoping that things will go smoothly, but we'll still do our best to fix any emergent issues that come up!
Thank you. <3
Necrobarista launches July 22nd!
We're absolutely thrilled to announce that Necrobarista is releasing for PC on July 22, 2020.
[previewyoutube="T07e9MmfJ3c;full"] The journey to release has been a long one, and we've had a lot of setbacks and false starts. But we're finally here, and we couldn't be more grateful for the support you've given us since we first announced Necrobarista in 2017. The game has gone through a huge number of reworks and tweaks to make it the best it can be, and it's turned into something we're really, really proud of.
But enough of that - we're getting a little emotional.
Necrobarista is nearly here. If you want to be one of the very first to play, make sure you add us to your Steam wishlist. It also helps us a whole bunch with navigating the Steam store's discovery algorithms!
We'll be sharing more details and tidbits on social media as the fated date approaches. Don't miss out! 👇
That's all for now. We keep saying this, but it's worth repeating: thank you for sticking with us, all this time. It's kept us going through the long nights and dark hours, and we're filled with determination.
Talk soon.
❤, Route 59
The December Post
As the year rolls to a close, we're receiving many questions and comments about Necrobarista, and about when it'll be releasing. We're very deeply appreciative that you've stuck with us for so long, and this post will hopefully give you what you're after, as well as providing a general update on how we're holding up as a team and what you can expect in regards to post-launch content. It's important to note that for various complex reasons, we are unable to go into detail on certain things, but we'll do our best to be as frank and transparent as possible.
Team Health Update
Necrobarista has been in the works for a really, really long time. Route 59 Games has existed in one form or another since 2015, and the project now known as Necrobarista started development at the end of 2016. Additionally, when we first announced our August 2019 release window, we genuinely were very set on that. Everything looked like it'd line up for that release date, and I'll go into further detail on the reasons behind our delay below, but it's important to talk openly about working conditions in the game industry, so here goes: we're all suffering burnout, and that's difficult to deal with.
If you're unfamiliar with burnout, it's essentially a physiological state that manifests as feelings of exhaustion or energy depletion, as well as reduced workplace productivity. It's not fun. We've focused a lot on healthy working practices, particularly over the last six months, but the fact of the matter is that it's very difficult to stay motivated and healthy when you're working towards a finish line that you can't see. It's also very difficult to "switch off" from working, because it's easy for our brains to trick us into thinking that we're not working hard enough and letting down everyone else on our team. Since we've been unable to set a solid public release date for Aforementioned Complex Reasons, working on the game has often felt like wading around in the dark, trying to find a light switch that keeps running away from us. Like I said before, it's not fun, but when the choices available to you are (a) overwork or (b) the game not releasing, it's hard to say no to option A.
With that in mind, we're all taking a break towards the end of this month. It's been a long time since the entire studio took time off together, and if nobody's working on the game for a little while, that hopefully means nobody else will feel that unconscious peer pressure to get back to work. It's the healthiest thing we can do, and we're looking forward to starting 2020 with a fresh burst of energy leading towards our PC release.
Ultimately, a lot of this is out of our control, and we're rolling with the punches as best we can. The past six months have been a pretty mixed bag for us. We've had some very cool things happen to us, as well as some totally garbage things, but that's just life, y'know? We're doing our best. And we're thankful every day that our fans are sticking with us. You are all wonderful humans and we couldn't ask for the support of a nicer bunch of people.
What's Taking You So Long?
If you cast your mind back to our original delay announcement, you'll note that we mentioned translating the game into a patently ridiculous number of languages. Fifteen in total. We were very excited to suddenly have the resources to do this, and it's something we're still very glad to have, but localization has been a significant drain on our resources, and we've had to put a large amount of engineering work into making everything work correctly across all languages and playable aspect ratios. Additionally, right-to-left languages like Arabic are still difficult to implement into games, as documentation and support for their fonts and layouts are often lacking or simply nonexistent.
On top of this, we've recently devoted significant engineering resources into optimizing the game. The past six months have involved a large amount of bugfixing and quality assurance, and Necrobarista is much better for it. According to Jira, we've resolved at least 371 issues in the last six months, on top of ongoing work to polish and refine all aspects of the game. It's a good-looking game, and it looks a little bit better every day.
Necrobarista's Launch Window
This is the question that's on everyone's minds: when's the game actually launching? After all, we've announced tentative release windows many times (RIP our initial October 2017 estimate), and even went to the point of nailing down a solid release date earlier this year. A point I'd like to emphasize is this: we wouldn't be delaying the game unless we absolutely had to. And in this situation, it's because the ability to set a launch date is currently out of our hands. The decision is not ours to make, and we won't be announcing a solid release date again until we're 100% certain that nothing will get in our way.
However—and this is not an announcement or a promise, but a transparent communication of where we're at—we are currently aiming for "very early 2020" for our PC release. The game is looking great, and is essentially done, so it would take a chain of very unfortunate events to delay the game anywhere past Q1. We're feeling just as impatient as you are, promise.
Beyond Launch
There's not a lot we can say here yet, but I'm happy to confirm that Necrobarista will be well-supported after launch. We'll respond to bugs and other issues as they emerge, and we also have solid plans for post-launch feature updates and significant content additions. There's some very cool stuff in the pipeline to look forward to, and if you've been paying close attention to our trailers, you might recognize some familiar faces...
The Future Is Bright
It's been a long slog to the finish line, but we're beginning to feel like we're almost there. We're all very much looking forward to having the game out, and we're confident that it's in a very good state. Our playtesters (and friends and family) have universally given us glowing feedback, which fills us with DETERMINATION. To put it simply: we got this. And we're so, so thankful that you've stuck with us.
More news soon.
❤, Route 59 Games
Pre-Launch Development Update
Dearest friends, fans, and other interested parties,
The finish line is in sight. Everyone at Route 59 is absolutely busting to release Necrobarista into the world, and—good news—we're almost certain that it'll be soon. Very soon, even. Lots of wheels are in motion, and this tram ain't stopping for nobody.
First, though, here's the rundown of where we're at generally:
Localization on all of the fourteen languages we're shipping in is on the cusp of being complete; only minor tweaks remain. Everyone involved in localization has worked incredibly hard and fast to get the job done, and we're both super impressed and very thankful for them.
Most of us are currently focusing on diligently playtesting and addressing bugs and performance issues—as our screenshots and gameplay footage demonstrate, Necrobarista is a graphically complex game, and we're doing our best to ensure it looks great and runs smoothly on a broad range of setups. We'll be delivering further optimizations post-launch, too.
Necrobarista has been to two different conventions in the past month: Gamescom and Tokyo Game Show! We had a wonderful reception at both, and would like to extend special thanks to our Japanese publishing partner PLAYISM for doing a great job of demoing the game at TGS (as always).
Now we're making preparations for PAX Aus 2019! Expect new merch and a booth full of overcaffeinated game developers.
Most importantly, even though we're working our butts off, we're making sure to take care of ourselves and not burn out in the last stage of development. It's an easy pitfall to trip into, but thankfully our producer is on the hunt for anyone working after hours. Believe me, there have been (gentle) scoldings.
Please don't break the window. The air conditioner is on and we are listening to our favourite music. 🐕
Now, here's a list of serious and not-so-serious questions that I gathered from our Discord and Twitter:
Frequently (Recently) Asked Questions
Q: Are you still going to release Necrobarista in Q3, aka before the end of September? A: That was the original expectation, but it's not looking likely at this point.
Q: It's still coming before Christmas, though, right? A: At this point we cannot foresee a situation where that is not the case. We're pushing very hard to have the game out ASAP.
Q: Will there be a demo or a preorder? A: These are both things we've put a lot of thought into. Ultimately, a polished demo would take extra development time, and we're close enough to releasing the full game that it's not a good use of our time to go back and cut bits out of it for a demo build. As for a preorder, well, it's a big logistical challenge that we'd probably want to tackle a bit earlier in the development cycle—as with the demo, we don't really think it would be worthwhile to launch a preorder so close to release.
Q: I saw your company logo in a big tech company's presentation recently. A: This seems like less of a question and more of a comment.
Q: C'mon. ಠ_ಠ A: We have nothing new to announce at this time. Sorry! We might have some neat things to talk about soon, though. Keep an eye on our social media. (Links at the bottom of this post!)
Q: What about that bangin' Kevin Penkin soundtrack? A: That'll drop within a week or two of the game's Steam release, via our partners Boss Battle Records. As before, keep an eye on our social media to stay informed on where you can listen to the extremely sick beats that our audio team cooked up.
Q: Switch & PS4 ports? A: 2020.
Looking Forward to Release
Speaking from the heart here, it's been a long journey for all of us. A good chunk of the Route 59 team has been working towards this game release for five years at this point, and I don't think any of us would have made it this far without the encouraging and gratifying groundswell of support from our little passionate fanbase. What I'm trying to say is that we appreciate you a whole lot, and every decision we make is in service of providing the best possible game for you at launch. Thank you for your patience. More soon. ❤
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Necrobarista is being delayed until later in Q3!
Hey everyone! We've had some unforeseen circumstances pop up and, as such, Necrobarista needs a little longer to percolate. At this point, we're still planning for a Q3 launch, so don't worry - you won't be waiting too much longer for the game!
We're taking a little extra time to polish the game and, excitingly, that means we'll be launching with support for FOURTEEN languages: English, French (& Canadian French), Italian, German, Spanish, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Japanese, Korean, Russian, Turkish, Arabic, Brazilian Portuguese, and Dutch!
We understand that it's a little disappointing to see a delay this close to launch, but the game will be a whole lot better for it - promise. We'll share more details about our release date as soon as we can, and rest assured - there are more exciting announcements incoming!
As always, we're endlessly grateful for your love and support. In recent months, we've been sent a bunch of fanart, and it never fails to bring a smile to our faces. Thank you, coffee fiends!
🖤💀☕
July Dev Update
Hello everyone! Necrobarista's development is continuing smoothly, and we're continuing to work with our international partners to deliver the best game we possibly can. We're very excited to be close to finishing the game!
Here's some high-res screenshots!
Oh, by the way, we have some pretty exciting news coming soon, so keep an eye out for that! We'd tell you now, but... we can't, it's still a secret. 🤐
As always, thank you for all your support - it gives us the warmest of fuzzies. 🤗💀☕
Necrobarista releases AUGUST 8! Plus: new Gameplay Trailer!
It's been a long time in the works, but we're thrilled to announce that Necrobarista will be releasing for PC on August 8th, 2019! Don't forget to add us to your Steam Wishlist to get notified when we post updates (and also when we release the game)!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9R8fPRfRQ6w More news soon!
For exclusive sneak peeks, screenshots, and more, check us out on:
