Norco
v1.3.6
CHANGES:
- Fix various auto combat bugs.
- Edit Act 1 dialogue for brevity & clarity.
- Color adjust several scenes.
- Added save time to save slots
- Also includes 1.3.5 updates for non-steam-pc builds
KNOWN ISSUES:
- Minor edits to the Act 1 dialogue needs to be re-localized. We'll have these changes reflected in all languages in a new patch next week.
- We found a bug that was introduced in 1.3.5 or earlier: the mouse scroll wheel isn't working in the bedroom computer scene. Holding and dragging to scroll this works. We'll address this asap.
NORCO 1.3.5 Windows Patch Notes
- Fix the door knock mechanic so there's a noticeable wait before Leblanc fusses you.
- Improve the dive timing when in the swamp overworld to prevent camera dislocation.
- Fix (?? or at least significantly reduce the likelihood of) the issue causing text strings to disappear when the player spams the return button. This should fix other reported bugs in which players weren't receiving the correct items or couldn't progress beyond certain points in the game.
NORCO 1.3.5 Windows
- Fix the door knock mechanic so that there's a noticeable wait before Leblanc fusses you if you fail.
- Improve the dive timing when in the swamp overworld to prevent camera dislocation.
- Fix (?? or at least greatly reduce the likelihood of) the issue causing dialogue lines to disappear when the player spams the left click/confirm button while in immediate dialogue mode. This should fix other reported bugs in which players weren't receiving the correct items, or weren't able to progress beyond certain points in the game. The reason being that the player collects these items and state tokens as the dialogue appears. When the dialogue doesn't appear, these items/tokens aren't collected.
We'll get these changes out for Mac + other storefronts as soon as possible!
NORCO PC Feature Update (Mac soon!); 50% Off Sale
Hello!
Version 1.3.2 of NORCO is now live for PC.
Due to vacation scheduling, we've unfortunately had to delay its Mac release, but it should be available by the end of the month for Mac users as well.This update includes two new features that players have requested: "Expert Mode" and "Autocombat." Both of these can be found in the "Gameplay" submenu that's now available from the settings menu.
NEW FEATURE - EXPERT MODE
This is an idea that user Safe-Keeper suggested in the discussion forum. This mode eliminates the "hint" highlighting feature from the game, several instances of dialogue hinting and signposting, and certain visual cues that assist in puzzle solving. This is meant to create a more challenging playthrough for experienced adventure game players.
NEW FEATURE - AUTOCOMBAT
This feature automates all combat encounters in the game, with the exception of the Crouton encounter. We decided to leave this one in because it's optional and there's an alternative solution later in the game. We'd love your feedback if you feel differently about this decision.
50% OFF SALE + STREAM
NORCO will be 50% off starting August 7th to the 13th. We'll be sitting down with our friend Leigh (@roaringblood) for a casual playthrough and discussion of NORCO's themes. Leigh grew up across the river from Norco and has recently done an "annotated stream" of the game that provides a lot of local insight into the region. This playthrough will be pre-recorded and will be looping here on the Steam page during the sale.
FUTURE UPDATES
We'll continue to work on quality of life features over the course of the Summer/Fall based on feedback we've received here and in the forum. Something that a couple of players have requested is the ability to scroll back in dialogue. Because of the way we implemented the dialogue system, this will unfortunately require a larger refactor than it would otherwise, but it's something we really hope to implement. We'll keep you posted on this and any other features/content/ideas we're cooking up over the next several months.
Thank you as always for your continued interest and support! It really means a lot,
Yuts
NORCO Livestream - Watch Now!
To celebrate the major update hitting today and NORCO being 50% off (until August 13th), lead programmer Aaron Gray and I sat down with our friend and fellow Louisianian, Leigh (@roaringblood) for a casual playthrough and discussion of NORCO's themes.
Leigh grew up across the river from Norco and has recently done an "annotated stream" of the game that provides a lot of local insight into the region. Our playthrough will be pre-recorded and will be looping here on the Steam page during the sale.
Check it out for additional regional context and to hear some of the lived experiences behind the story and creation of the game.
Thank you as always, and enjoy!
Yuts
NORCO诺科 Adds Simplified Chinese Language & Gamepad Support
Wanted to let you know there's an update going out today for Simplified Chinese language support.
If you're interested, there's now a version of the trailer in Simplified Chinese that you can watch on YouTube... or on bilibili!We've also implemented gamepad support. We targeted Xbox controllers this round, though it should work for other gamepads as well. Here's the layout:
You can control the mouse cursor manually using the left joystick or select elements on the screen discretely using the d-pad. You can also jump to elements of different types quickly by using the "cycle" buttons. Whenever you encounter a scrollable screen (computer in the bedroom; phone text messages; using the Apocryphon app; etc), you can use the right analog to scroll. We QA'd this as much as we could but if you hit anything, we'd love if you could submit a ticket here.
Thank you as always! We'll have more updates and features coming very soon, including an "expert mode" that eliminates hints from the game to make puzzles more challenging for experienced adventure game players. If you love the game and want to see more from us, please leave a Steam review. It makes a big difference and is a great way to support small indies. Thank you again -
Yuts
Liked NORCO? Check out Kathy Rain & Whispers of a Machine.
We want to give a shout-out to the team at Clifftop Games, the developers of Kathy Rain and Whispers of a Machine. These two games have a lot in common with NORCO, featuring beautiful pixel art guided by a point & click mystery that has a deep narrative you can sink into and one that sinks into you whilst staying with you for a long time.
We'll pop some info about each title below and we hope that you'll check them out,
Have a great summer,
/Rawfury
The award-winning point-and-click adventure returns in the [Kathy Rain] Director's Cut with an extended story, additional puzzles, and new areas to explore. Witness the rise of an iconic detective as you uncover a dark and sinister truth hiding behind the calm exterior of a small rural town.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1395030/Kathy_Rain_Directors_Cut/
Whispers of a Machine is a Sci-Fi Nordic Noir that tells the story of Vera, a cybernetically augmented detective in a post-AI world, who investigates a string of murders and unravels a dark conflict over forbidden technology.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/631570/Whispers_of_a_Machine/
NORCO Is 17% off in the Raw Fury Steam Summer Sale!
A warm (or chilly) greeting to you all,
With Summer looming over us, avoiding pollen and staying inside has never been so tempting! 🐝
To (bee)less this occasion, you can grab NORCO with 17% off from the 23rd of June to the 7th of July.
Stay cool,
/Raw Fury
NORCO WINS HONORS AT A MAZE./FEST 2022
NORCO got recognized at the 11th International A MAZE Festival in Berlin last week, winning top prize in the 'Long Feature' category. It was a great honor. For those who aren't familiar with the event, I recommend checking it out. They featured a huge number of interesting and experimental works, many of which aren't getting the attention in games press that they deserve. It's where I first heard of Atuel for example, a documentarian game about the Atuel River in Argentina.
If you want to check out our submission intro video, I uploaded it here. We couldn't be there personally to accept the award but luckily our friends at Raw Fury were on site to represent on our behalf. Some of their photos from the event:
The venue:
The event:
The show:
The award!
As always, we're feeling that gratitude. Both to the A MAZE jury and staff; and to everyone who continues to follow along with this project.
y
NORCO IS 10% OFF FOR "SPRING SURPRISE SALE"; NEW FONT & FIXES COMING SOON
Hey! If you've been waiting on a sale to grab the game, it'll be 10% off for Raw Fury's "Spring Surprise Sale", which runs from May 4th, 7pm CET to the 10th.
We are also planning to release in patch 1.1.2 a new selectable font to the project (Roboto), as well as patching in some fixes for localization support. Spanish and German players should see less bugged out characters. Patch 1.1.2 will go live soon, we will be sure to let you know when it does.
There've been a number of very insightful writeups about NORCO recently and I wanted to shout out a couple:
God's and Ghosts in Norco's Checmical Corridor by Jedd Cole
Also this playthrough by Day9 !
And for Spanish readers...
'Norco', Sueño Febril en el Bayou by Borja Vaz
More patches and updates coming soon. Thank you as always for sticking with us!
🌼 🌻 🌷,
y