as you may know, over the recent months we have been very busy working on season two of Orwell, Orwell: Ignorance is Strength, which you can wishlist here:
During the development we have solved a lot of issues with the game's technical base which we also want to apply to the original Orwell game. We're releasing these improvements with Orwell 1.2 today!
Most notably we increased the game's performance in terms of image loading times and memory usage, but also fixed a nasty bug that sometimes caused already discovered conflicted datachunks to be displayed as not being discovered, causing some confusion (this mainly occurred during Episode 2).
Note: Your saved profiles are NOT backwards compatible, which means a 1.2 profile won't necessarily load on a version 1.1 game client. Please update the game on any devices to version 1.2 to avoid running into this issue.
As always you can find the full changelog below.
Stay vigilant,
the Osmotic Studios team
Changelog Version 1.2
Content Changes
added a wishlist screen for Orwell: Ignorance is Strength when quitting the game; this can be disabled in said screen
fixed a variety of inconsistencies in expressions (like "government"/"Government")
fixed a variety of typos
SPOILER EPISODE 1: [SPOILER]changed an adviser commentary in regard to Cassandra being depressive that could be out of context if the player didn't add a datachunk on her attitude before[/SPOILER]
SPOILER EPISODE 2: [SPOILER]prevented that the player could solve the objective on Abraham's profession before having added the datachunk on his students and the number of protests, which would then result in a logical inconsistency[/SPOILER]
SPOILER EPISODE 3: [SPOILER]fixed wrong titles of various people on the defaced Party people website[/SPOILER]
SPOILER EPISODE 5: [SPOILER]added a new commentary in which Catherine warns the player when opening her PC's desktop that further investigating her will have consequences[/SPOILER]
SPOILER EPISODE 5: [SPOILER]harrison.txt will now be displayed on initiate's PC in Episode 5 (it had never been visible before)[/SPOILER]
SPOILER EPISODE 5: [SPOILER]Catherine will now comment every datachunk the player uploads on himself/herself (provided she didn't switch off her PC before)[/SPOILER]
SPOILER EPISODE 5: [SPOILER]Catherine will no longer comment on anything after she switches off her PC[/SPOILER]
Technical Fixes
decreased overall memory usage
improved overall performance and loading times
implemented a skip label to the intro cut scene being displayed when the player presses any key
main menu logo animation now plays more fluidly
added a loading cursor while booting up the game
added a warning if a savegame originates from a newer version than the current client; this only works for future versions of the game though
added different layouts of lines underneath tool icons that get switched according to the currently opened tool
category buttons in the Profiler where there aren't any updates are now disabled
mails can now be scrolled correctly if their content exceeds the Listener window
fixed a bug where the game started with a big cursor for a brief moment on some platforms
fixed a bug where the breadcrumb navigation (Insider) didn't show the whole document path after loading savegames multiple times
fixed a bug that prevented already discovered conflicted datachunks to be shown as discovered in the datachunk information window of their counterparts if those datachunks were on a website that was updated several times (this could occur mainly on the Thought website in Episode 2)
fixed a bug that some characters had their names displayed as "Unknown Person" in the corresponding Listener bookmarks when they were actually known
fixed a bug of wrong spacing between insider bookmarks
fixed a bug that led to too much space at the bottom of some websites
fixed an issue where a text box or image outline of a chunk was highlighted on hover, before hovering the actual chunk itself (the box is always a bit larger than the chunk)
fixed a bug where images on Insider devices were not displayed correctly when opening documents for the first time
fixed a savegame bug which could occur when the day was completed while an adviser commentary was still waiting to be displayed
fixed a bug that sometimes led to datachunk boxes not fitting their text in Listener calls after loading a savegame
SPOILER EPISODE 5: [SPOILER]fixed a bug where the number of remaining datachunk uploads weren't correct when loading a savegame at a certain point in the game[/SPOILER]
SPOILER EPISODE 5: [SPOILER]fixed a bug where the "uploads remaining" label was displayed after loading a game even though there weren't any uploads left[/SPOILER]
SPOILER EPISODE 5: [SPOILER]fixed a display bug of the datachunks on the Player Evaluation website[/SPOILER]
Known Issues
savegames are NOT backwards compatible (1.2 savegames do not run on 1.1 or lower clients); there are no warnings being displayed in version 1.1 or lower
Linux: blur shaders have been disabled throughout the game
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH STORE PAGE AND FAQ NOW LIVE!
Agents,
Many apologies for the wait on the Orwell: Ignorance is Strength store page. We thank you for your patience. It is now live for your perusal. However, our work is only just at its start...
https://youtu.be/Bbrsck9Ag2I
Osmotic Studios and Surprise Attack Games are thrilled to announce the second season of Orwell, titled Orwell: Ignorance is Strength.
Inspired by the rise of fake news, the social media echo chamber and the death of truth - Season 2, Orwell: Ignorance is Strength will place you in the shoes of a government official in a top-secret department of the Orwell program.
The Nation and Parges threatens to plunge into violent civil unrest, as a political crisis arises across borders. As the agent, you're given the power to both uncover and fabricate the truth - and you must decide for yourself whether truth is sacred or ignorance is strength.
Season 2 brings a darker tone and introduces new tools, providing you with more control over how the investigation unfolds and even the ability to influence public opinion directly.
Coming soon, the game will be available on PC, Mac and Linux at launch, and we look forward to bringing you more details. Don't forget to wishlist on Steam!
It was a bright cold day in April... Today Orwell's story begins - 33% discount
Investigators and potential recruits,
in our game, Orwell takes up service on April 13, 2017, one day after the first Bonton Bombing hit the Freedom Memorial. If you take a good look at your calendar you'll notice: That day is today!
Because we think it's the perfect time to pick up the game we have discounted it at 33% off for the rest of the week.
If that still doesn't convince you, give the first episode - which is set today - a try with the free demo.
In other news, please keep your fingers crossed for us as Orwell is nominated for two more awards: The German Computer Game Awards as Best Serious Game and The A MAZE. Awards. Both are to be awarded in Berlin at the end of April.
Stay vigilant!
Your Osmotic Studios Team
The Rewind Update, IGF, GDC & PAX East!
Hello investigators,
Today we are excited to release a brand new update for Orwell, an update that introduces one of the most requested features we've had from you all!
The Rewind Update will allow all players who have completed the game to "rewind" their save to the beginning of any chosen day, erasing all choices and allowing them to continue and explore other paths. Want to see how things pan out in day three if you made some other choices? Simply select day 3 from the menu and it's almost as if Symes has accidentally deleted all the Datachunks you submitted in days three, four and five!
To access the Episode Selection feature, you will need to access the Profile Options area. The Episode selection button will be locked until you have completed the game at least once, however after completion, it will be available for all new and existing profiles. Any unlocked episode is colored while the rest is grayed out. Click on the episode you want to revert your progress to, then click "Load Episode" and confirm.
Be aware that loading a previous episode PERMANENTLY reverts your progress to the beginning of that episode. This cannot be undone, so make sure you are willing to revert your save before doing so!
We know that the update has taken quite some time. Messing around with save games is never an easy task for developers, so the team at Osmotic has been taking their time to ensure it is done correctly. Initial testing shows that everything is operational, however they may be some fringe cases with some problems. Please report those cases in the Steam forums, so we can make sure that they don't slip through the cracks.
In other news, Osmotic and Surprise Attack Games will be attending GDC 2017, where Osmotic will be hosting an Orwell booth in the IGF Finalist area. We are honoured to be up for the Excellence in Narrative Award, and we can't wait to meet all the devs that will be attending! If you are going to the show, make sure you stop on by and meet the team!
During next week, DRM-free fans can pick up a copy of Orwell on on other stores! The build will be on parity with the Steam build, so if you have some friends who want to hide from the prying eyes of DRM, make sure you let them know.
Finally, Surprise Attack Games will be heading along to PAX East, and will be showcasing Orwell alongside their other titles. You can find them in the PAX Aus Roadshow area, marked clearly in the show guide, and a giant sign above the booth on the show floor. Make sure you head along and show your support if you're making it out to Boston this year!
Orwell nominated at SXSW and update to Version 1.0.6236
Investigators,
Orwell is nominated for the Matthew Crump Cultural Innovation Award at SXSW 2017 alongside That Dragon, Cancer and 1979 Revolution: Black Friday and others, which is a big honor for us! Thanks so much for making this possible!
Also we have just updated the game to Version 1.0.6236 across all platforms, which is mainly intended to add free window resizing and fix various crashes and instabilities. You can find patchnotes below.
Please note that this patch doesn't include the Episode Selection feature yet. The feature will most likely be released with a February update.
Stay vigilant!
Your Osmotic Studios Team
Patchnotes Version 1.0.6236
Content Fixes
Catherine no longer shows up as "Unknown person" in the Profiler.
Added an additional datachunk to clarify who the "Unknown person" related to Josef Langley is.
Fixed some typos.
Technical Fixes
The game window can now be resized freely in windowed mode.
Fixed various startup crashes.
Fixed a crash that could occur right after 100% of savegame loading.
Fixed various stalls (that also could crash the application) while loading or playing.
Fixed brief CPU stall when starting to load a profile, just before the loading circle switches to the grey 0% state.
Fixed a bug that stopped the loading of a savegame, which was created after starting a new chat / call and before the first message was displayed.
Fixed wrong cursor scaling behavior.
Fixed a bug where profile updates were skipped.
Fixed a bug which led to blurry outlines for chunk boxes when using ultra wide resolutions.
Fixed a bug where parts of the UI (top and bottom) were outside the game window when using certain aspect ratios.
Fixed a bug which led to big chunk icons at the cursor when using ultra wide screen setups.
Can no longer open the ingame menu while the episode label is still being displayed.
Mac: No longer stretches the UI incorrectly when maximizing the window.
Win: Is now a x86/64-bit universal application.
Orwell announced as finalist in the IGF awards!
Hello investigators,
Earlier this week we received some fantastic news! Orwell has been named as a finalist in the IGF Narrative Excellence category, alongside some of our favourite indie games of last year, which is a huge honor for us. The story of Orwell was always the major point of focus, to create something with twists and turns that would keep you guessing. That became even more apparent when we decided to go for the episodic route at release, and it's a fantastic achievement to be named a finalist.
That's not all though! We also gained an honorable mention for the Seumas McNally Grand Prize, the most prestigious award from the IGF. An award that has been won by some of my personal favourite games such as Monaco, Minecraft, Fez and Papers, Please. To be named as an honorable mention is humbling, especially when you look at the list of people who were named finalists! You can view all of the finalists and the honorable mentions via the IGF website.
It's important to celebrate our achievements, but it doesn't mean we're done yet. We are working away on a nice update that is going to bring some improvements, and include an episode selector among other cool things. We'll reveal more on that update over the next few weeks.
As always, stay vigilant!
Steve - Surprise Attack Games
Happy Holidays! Orwell now 20% off, Mac and Linux demos
Investigators,
as the year comes to a close there's the traditional Winter Sale on Steam, and Orwell is a part of it with 20% off of the game and the OST.
There's also more good news for Mac and Linux users: The demo including the entire Episode One is now available for both operating systems as well.
For us from Osmotic, 2016 has been a pretty wild ride, but ultimately a successful one, thanks to every last one of you! We wish you all the best for the rest of the year and a good start into 2017!
Happy Holidays (whether you celebrate or not),
Mel, Micha and Daniel from Osmotic
Orwell now available on Mac and Linux!
Hello investigators,
Hope you are all doing well as we lead up to the holiday season. Just a small update today - Orwell is now available for Mac and Linux users.
We have done some limited testing with OS X and Ubuntu, and so far all of our results have been great. That doesn't mean you will not find issues at home; with such a varying landscape of operating systems and hardware configurations, we are expecting some of you to have issues. We have opened up sticky threads for both Mac and Linux - please put any issues you find in there with as much information as possible, and we will aim to help you as quickly as we can.
Hope you enjoy the break, and we will see you all in the new year!
Steve - Community Manager
Changelog Version 1.0.6194
Technical Fixes
The relationship window now dynamically adjusts size to fit the graph. This should prevent portraits from being placed where they cannot be clicked.
Fixed a bug where the datachunk information window appeared partially outside of the screen, causing the disable / enable button to be unclickable.
Fixed a bug that led to massively increased loading times to enter the main menu after loading savegames and entering main menu repeatedly.
Now uses application icons in different resolutions, fixes grainy taskbar icons.
