While we are hard at work developing 14.0, we’ve decided to release a quick patch to smooth out the changes made in 13.5. Additionally, we’ve included a section dedicated to developer insight at the end of the patch notes.
Enjoy!
Adjustments and Tweaks
Increased the speed bonuses granted by SCP-207. Health drain values have been left unchanged.
The first SCP-207 instance consumed now provides a 15% increase in movement speed (previously 10%).
The second instance consumed provides a 30% increase in movement speed (previously 20%).
The third instance consumed provides a 45% increase in movement speed (previously 40%).
Reduced the volume of Anti-SCP-207’s background audio.
Anti-SCP-207’s secret ‘life save’ mechanic now provides damage immunity for 1.5s (previously 0.25s). This effect is now audible to other players.
Anti-SCP-207 now saves a user’s life from SCP-939’s Lunge.
Anti-SCP-207 can now only be stacked up to two times.
When at full HP, Anti-SCP-207 now generates additional AHP, up to 75. This will decay upon removal of the effect.
Anti-SCP-207 now rarely spawns naturally within the standard No-7 lockers (a.k.a. ‘SCP item pedestals’).
Added an Operational Guide entry for Anti-SCP-207.
Jailbird now applies Flashed for 1.5s upon a successful hit.
Updated role colours for Chaos Insurgency classes.
Updated the role colour of the MTF Specialist class.
Painkillers, SCP-500, and SCP-1853 display progress bars and can now be cancelled before usage.
Adrenaline is now activated sooner after usage.
Bug Fixes and Technical Changes
Fixed an issue allowing players to damage 096 without becoming a target.
Fixed unlockable main menu themes having inverted locking criteria.
Fixed the Fog Status effect resetting when a different player lost the effect.
Fixed the Chaos Marauder and Chaos Repressor role names being swapped in Remote Admin.
Fixed some SCP-1853 danger events not unregistering properly.
Fixed some Discord Rich Presence events not unregistering properly.
Reverted changes to ICommand, removing ICommand.SanitizeResponse.
The Remote Admin console will now automatically attempt to close all unclosed rich text tags.
TCP_NODELAY option is now set on socket used for communication with LocalAdmin.
Made improvements regarding LocalAdmin to SCP:SL communication.
`snr` now takes an optional argument allowing server admins to redirect players to a different server upon round end.
Fixed `rnr` not working when fast restart is enabled.
Added the `nr` command, displaying any actions that will occur when the round ends.
Improved server console command handling.
Fixed predefined ban templates being duplicated when running `pm reload`.
Updated the PluginAPI.
Development Insight and Commentary
We wanted to offer additional insight concerning the ‘why’ of our recent changes to SCP-207 and Anti-SCP-207. No further gameplay changes will be talked about from this point forward.
We’ll start off with SCP-207. When we first implemented this item, features like stamina and prevalent medical supplies weren’t yet implemented, resulting in the item’s balance reflecting the then current state of the game. It was then left nearly untouched for years, despite the game evolving around it. Now, it’s hard to travel a few rooms without coming across some sort of healing item, be it medkits, painkillers, SCP-330 candies, etc.
SCP-207 was always designed to be a hazard to players. A ‘deal with the devil’ item that, while providing increased movement speed, would put your life on a short timer — use the item to run, escape, or die trying. Following the changes to speed and HP drain, we believe that we have achieved our goal of restoring the heavy risks provided. After receiving community feedback, we’ve decided to amplify the speed of the Cola across all tiers, providing a more fair trade for the health drain.
Moving on to Anti-SCP-207, this item was originally added as a low-cost development joke. It took a few hours at most, and didn’t detract from any larger projects that needed the time. It also allowed us to experiment with new systems that we could potentially pursue usage of in the future, such as the ‘life saving’ mechanic. Throughout recent updates, we’ve slowly improved the item such that we can integrate it into standard gameplay — this allowed us to make a low-cost experimental SCP item without needing to do all the work at once. According to the feedback forms we received, players felt the item was too difficult to obtain for it to be of any use. Now that we are more confident with the state of the SCP, we feel now would be a perfect time to implement the item as a rare specialty.
Thank you all! If you’d like to see further commentary sections in the future, let us know. Otherwise, keep an eye out for further changes to come.
Have fun, and see you in the dark. ~ Northwood Studios
A new Patreon preview has arrived!
Hello everyone!
It's been a hot minute since we last talked about some Patreon news here, so let's not wait any longer and dive right into it!
One of the things that have remained the same since the game’s initial launch are the human character models. This will change in the near future! You can read everything there is to know about the newly designed human character models in our July Patreon Post, which is now available for those who have subscribed to the ‘Scientist’ tier ($5) and above.
In April of this year, we also introduced our Patreons to a new project called Memorandums — revolving around a vast array of cut content that did not make it into the game. The first volume of Memorandums has been made public and can be found in the link below. https://patreon.scpslgame.com/posts/view/e73737f6-13e3-4a4a-b64d-282282cacf62
Lastly, our Patreon Post from March, which contains information about the SCP-1853 Rework and Reinforcements, has been made public as well! You can find this post at: https://patreon.scpslgame.com/posts/view/d752bab8-92ae-4916-8941-b5a34c683a86
We wish you a nice summer, and we’ll see you in the dark. - Northwood Studios
13.5 - Feedback Survey
Hello everyone.
Following the recent release of the 13.5 Update, we're eager to hear your thoughts and opinions on the recent changes.
We invite you to share your feedback through the survey linked below.
https://forms.gle/xH1HHBcvuRuseuNr8
Thank you for your continued support!
~ The Feedback Team
Version 13.5 out now!
Hello everyone.
We are excited to present the remaining SCP updates, as well as the anticipated 1853 rework and more in this latest release. Included in 13.5 are a number of significant balance changes for the remaining members of the SCP team. The following lists fixes and improvements to the gameplay experience of certain SCPs and those playing against them.
SCP Balance Changes
SCP-173
Base health increased to 4500.
Breakneck Speeds now starts on cooldown at the beginning of the round.
Tantrum can no longer be used during the Sustain period. Note: This is the amount of time where an eye indicator is visible on screen.
Developer Commentary: We felt that SCP-173 was finding LCZ (Light Containment Zone) elevators in the early game too quickly. As a result, a cooldown is now applied at the start of the round for balancing. We also noticed that SCP-173 could teleport behind a target and immediately use Tantrum, leading to an unavoidable death for human classes. As this led players to have a negative experience, this behaviour has been corrected while maintaining minimal impact to SCP-173’s general ability to place Tantrum.
SCP-106
Base health increased to 2300.
Maximum Hume Shield reduced to 600.
Increased M1’s initial damage to 40 (from 30).
Stamina will now drain when under the Corrosion status effect.
Removed the ability for SCP-500 to remove Traumatized.
Reduced cooldowns of Hunter’s Atlas and Stalk.
Emerging from the floor is now 0.2s faster.
Developer Commentary: After reviewing our feedback forms, we discovered that additional buffs added to SCP-106 were warranted. Introducing stamina draining will reduce circumstances where SCP-106 struggles to close the distance between itself and a target during extended periods of pursuit. Additionally, Vigor now acts as SCP-106’s primary cooldown to allow for a stealthier gameplay style.
SCP-079
The ability to lock doors is now achieved at Tier 3.
Updated Blackout.
Increased the cost to 40 AP (from 25). This cost is doubled on Surface Zone.
Decreased the duration to ten seconds (from 15).
Increased cooldown between zone-wide blackouts.
Reduced Tier 4’s AP regeneration.
Reduced Tier 5’s AP regeneration.
SCP-2176 now stuns SCP-079 for ten seconds.
Door-related buttons inside of the facility will no longer be visible to SCP-079 while the warhead is active.
Increased the distance at which allied SCPs can view pings.
Developer Commentary: We found that SCP-079’s ability to lock doors had the potential to be too oppressive during the early game and resulted in unavoidable deaths for Civilian classes. Additionally, we felt that AP costs had negligible impact in the later tiers. Following feedback from the beta, we have decided to no longer reduce XP rates from termination assists. We will be maintaining close observation on how SCP-079 performs going forward.
SCP-049
Base health increased to 2300.
Removed SCP-049’s innate armour bonus.
Increased Good Sense of the Doctor’s movement speed buff.
Increased Good Sense of the Doctor’s Hume Shield bonus upon resurrecting a target.
Increased the Hume Shield granting radius of Doctor’s Call.
Corpses now expire slightly faster.
Developer Commentary: SCP-049’s armour introduced complexity to the character that proved ineffective in creating a noticeable difference in gameplay.We decided to buff SCP-049’s health slightly to compensate. We have also improved SCP-049’s offensive capabilities to allow for more independent gameplay, and will be monitoring these changes closely.
SCP-049-2
Can now only be re-revived once by SCP-049.
Instances with an HP bonus granted by Good Sense of the Doctor will now revive with more HP.
Developer Commentary: A single SCP-049-2 instance that was repeatedly revived resulted in a total effective HP value of nearly 1500 for that specific player. The consequences result in the game not containing enough ammo to combat even a few resurrected players.
Improvements and Backend Changes
SCP-1853 Rework
SCP-1853 now grants the following buffs:
50% increase in item pickup speed.
20% decrease in weapon inaccuracy (ADS and Hip).
20% decrease in weapon recoil.
35% reduction in reload/unload time.
20% reduction in ADS enter/exit time.
20% reduction in use times of medical items, grenades, SCP items, and candy.
Removes speed and stamina penalties for held items.
SCP-1853 now operates on a system called Danger, strengthening its effects when the user is experiencing a life-threatening situation.
Danger caps at five, granting up to a 3x multiplier to its buffs.
The following conditions grant increases in Danger for 20 seconds, accompanied by an audio cue:
Encountering SCPs grants one Danger (+0.5 for additional encounters).
Encountering SCP-049-2 instances grants 0.25 Danger per encounter.
Encountering armed enemies grants one Danger (+0.25 for subsequent enemies).
Receiving damage grants 0.25 Danger for every ten health lost.
Being underneath the effects of Cardiac Arrest grants two Danger.
Being underneath the effects of Corroding grants one Danger.
Being an active target of SCP-096 grants two Danger.
Alpha Warhead being actively engaged grants one Danger.
Removed the ability to stack SCP-1853.
Developer Commentary: SCP-1853 gained an ‘underwhelming’ reputation for the majority of its inclusion. When we tested a potential rework in our Patreon Early Access Rebalancing Session and received very positive feedback, we were inspired to pursue further improvements. The result is SCP-1853 feeling much more reactive and engaging to use, along with a noticeable increase in strength than its previous incarnations.
SCP-207 Rebalance
SCP-207’s effect now caps after three consumed items instead of four.
Updated speed and damage values across all stack values. Note: The mentioned damage values are that of a sprinting player — walking and sneaking reduces damage appropriately.
Using one SCP-207 now results in a speed increase of 10% and a damage rate of 1.5HP/s.
Using two SCP-207 items now results in a speed increase of 20% and a damage rate of 2.5HP/s.
Using three SCP-207 items now results in a speed increase of 40% and a damage rate of 4HP/s.
Developer Commentary: SCP-207 has been noted to provide among the most beneficial impact to gameplay for a considerable amount of time. When we first added SCP-207 in 2019, its power level was tempered by the lack of healing items throughout the map and the absence of a stamina bar in older versions. As the game has developed and healing items are now more prevalent, we revisited SCP-207 with the intention of introducing suitable and relevant adjustments— using the item should pose a risk rather than effectively containing no downside.
Anti-SCP-207 Rebalance
Anti-SCP-207’s effect now caps after three consumed items instead of four.
Updated speed and healing values across all stack values. Note: The mentioned healing values are that of a stationary player — walking and sprinting reduces healing appropriately.
Using one Anti-SCP-207 now results in a speed decrease of 5% and a healing rate of 2.5HP/s.
Using two Anti-SCP-207 items now results in a speed decrease of 15% and a healing rate of 5HP/s.
Using three Anti-SCP-207 items now results in a speed decrease of 20% and a healing rate of 7.5HP/s.
Developer Commentary: Following the SCP-207 adjustments, we decided to update Anti-SCP-207 as well. Due to the speed-decreasing nature of Anti-SCP-207, we have increased its HP regeneration and, additionally, it will no longer be a one-to-one reflection of its counterpart.
Firearm Tweaks
Tweaked multiple aspects of the FR-MG-0.
Increased base weight of the FR-MG-0 to 9.2kg, previously 7.2kg.
Decreased the rate of fire to 720rpm, previously 750rpm.
Reduced the penetration of the FR-MG-0 to 60%, previously 75%.
Increased the damage of the FR-MG-0 to 24.4, previously 22.9.
AP Drum attachment now increases recoil by 15%.
AP Drum now increases penetration by 17%, previously 15%.
Short Barrel attachment now increases running accuracy by 20%.
Short Barrel now reduces damage by 6%, previously 3%.
Heavy Stock attachment reduces recoil by 16%, previously 33%.
Adjusted recoil pattern.
Logicer’s Short Barrel attachment now gives a 25% hip fire accuracy bonus, previously 43%.
The FSP-9 will now always become a COM-18 on Coarse in SCP-914.
Developer Commentary: As mentioned in our future update news post, our plans include large-scale adjustments to firearms. While these updates are still forthcoming, we are providing these smaller tweaks in the interim to assist in bridging the gap between these two updates.
Fixes and Improvements
Adjusted Adrenaline’s SCP-914 recipes.
Adjusted the Epsilon-11’s SCP-914 recipes.
Halloween and Christmas main menu theme options are now available year-round to players that have the achievement from participating in the respective Halloween and Christmas events.
Added the ability to upload your own custom main menu music tracks.
Reimplemented visual effect when a player is underneath Amnesia.
Jailbird now applies the Concussed status instead of Flashed.
SCP-096 can no longer acquire additional targets when actively charging.
SCP-939’s Lunge and SCP-173’s Blink should no longer kill targets behind thin walls.
Increased the Pocket Dimension’s music volume.
The Sinkhole status effect is now applied to players within the Pocket Dimension.
Fixed flashlight light sources appearing visually different between first and third person.
Fixed an exploit allowing SCP-106 to teleport to the wrong side of an elevator.
Fixed muted players becoming unmuted when reconnecting.
Fixed revival indicators lingering after a player’s respawn.
Fixed SCP-049 being able to respawn players in Overwatch mode.
Fixed SCP-079 being able to close doors/gates in specific scenarios while the warhead is active.
Fixed auto-nuke triggering at inconsistent intervals.
Fixed a formatting error when using the ‘Request Data’ feature in Remote Admin.
Cleaned up old code related to SCP-106’s Pocket Dimension exits.
Fixed an exploit allowing unsanitized names and text to mess with certain visual elements.
Fixed an occasional floating door button in the HCZ server room.
Fixed an incorrect monitor hitbox in TC-01.
Technical Changes
'AdminToyBase.IsStatic' property is now a SyncVar, allowing users to disable a 'PrimitiveObject' position updating.
Selected filters for RA’s player list are now saved across sessions.
Canceling the 'SCP106TeleportPlayerEvent' no longer grants SCP-106 a M1 cooldown. This can be overridden manually.
Added the ‘danger’ command to Remote Admin, which returns information regarding SCP-1853’s effects.
By popular request, added the ‘Fog Control’ status effect, granting the ability to change a client’s current FogType. Note: Not all fog types were made with this effect in mind. As a result, some fog types may not execute correctly when forced.
Implemented GPU instancing for primitive objects, improving performance.
Primitive objects now share materials when using the same colour.
Added ‘PrimitiveFlags’ property, allowing the toggling of certain features such as collision and visibility.
Removed the ability to set a primitive to a negative scale.
‘Cube’ primitive objects now use a ‘BoxCollider’ instead of a ‘MeshCollider’.
Cleaned up other primitive related code.
Added the Slowness status effect. This effect reduces movement speed by 1% per intensity, and can overflow into negative values.
Added `FogControl::SetFogType(FogType)` method for easier access to update fog for specific players.
Added rich text sanitization in all command responses. Note: commands may opt out of it by overriding `ICommand::SanitizeResponse`.
Updated category for some status effects.
That’s all for today — keep an eye out for further changes to come in the near future.
Have fun, and see you in the dark. ~ Northwood Studios
13.5 Public Beta - Feedback Survey
Hello everyone.
Following the recent release of the 13.5 Public Beta, we're eager to hear your feedback on the proposed changes.
We invite you to share your thoughts through the survey below.
https://forms.gle/Gdd9mvLhajtdkJ4T8
Thank you for your continued support!
~ The Feedback Team
The Future of SCP: Secret Laboratory - Version 13.5 and beyond
Hello, everyone!
It’s been a while since the last content update, and with 2024 approaching its midpoint, we’d like to break the radio silence by outlining the general shift of development direction that we've recently taken.
After many reworks and adjustments to the playable SCPs, we’ve reached the point where we’re comfortable dividing our focus onto other problematic aspects of the game, such as human gameplay and level design. In the following months, we’ll be working on changes to multiple items — primarily usable SCPs and firearms, as well as changes to the respawning system, and obtrusive level design aspects.
That being said, we’re excited to show you our most recent projects, including a few long-term goals.
Version 13.5
We'll begin by discussing Version 13.5, which has been our primary focus as of late. This update features a wide spectrum of balance changes — ranging from simple value tuning, to new mechanics and full item reworks. The update itself has just entered its public beta phase! If you wish to try it out before its final release, follow the instructions below:
Right-click SCP:SL in your Steam library, then select 'Properties'.
Select 'Betas', then from the dropdown box, opt-in to 'publicbeta'.
Close the menu. After waiting for the game to update, click play.
Our exact date of release is yet to be determined, but we're expecting it to be sometime later this month
SCP-1853 Rework
The flagship feature of this update is the long-awaited SCP-1853 rework. We’ve heard many voices over the years commenting on SCP-1853 (‘Performance Enhancer’) and its lacklustre impact on the gameplay loop, especially when compared to its direct competitor — SCP-207 (‘Cola’). Our first solution to this problem was prototyped months ago with our Patreon Supporters, and we’ve been satisfied with the results. We’ve decided to iron out the details and implement it permanently.
The effects of SCP-1853 remain mostly the same. Upon consumption, a number of effects are given to the player:
Increased item pickup speed.
Weight of armor and equipped items no longer reduces movement speed and stamina duration.
Reduction in the time needed to employ items such as — grenades, medicals, SCP items, etc.
Improved handling of firearms, including better accuracy, recoil control, reload times, and switching between hip fire / aiming down the sights.
These effects no longer scale with the number of SCP-1853s consumed. Instead, it now operates on a system called ‘Danger’, which quantifies the strength of the aforementioned effect. SCP-1853 will give temporary buffs to its users whenever they find themselves in a dangerous situation. This can be triggered by a number of events, including, but not limited to:
Receiving damage
Receiving certain negative status effects, such as Cardiac Arrest or Corroding.
Encountering SCPs or armed enemies.
Alpha Warhead becoming engaged.
Being an active target of SCP-096.
We believe that these changes will increase survivability when entering combat, and reward more active gameplay. This is in direct contrast to SCP-207, which primarily promotes an evasive playstyle. To further improve the dynamics, we’ve decided to adjust the effects of SCP-207.
SCP-207 was introduced back in 2019 during the Megapatch 2 Update, which was before the introduction of the stamina system. Over the years, the game has been constantly changing, but SCP-207’s stats have never been adjusted. Due to its relatively high availability and stackability, it has become a quick and easy way for players to improve their own mobility.
Over time, more players have recognised its potential, often resulting in a lot of frustration for the SCP team — being unable to chase down the last target. We’ve decided to address this issue by reducing the maximum number of stackable SCP-207s to three, which resolves the issues presented by the more “extreme” gameplay scenarios.
The infinite stamina granted after consuming the first bottle is quite a powerful benefit on its own, so we've decided to reduce the speed boost(s), while increasing the damage inflicted by the SCP-207 status effect.
Alongside these changes, SCP-1853 and SCP-207 will no longer be obtainable through SCP-914.
Other Improvements
13.5 will bring a number of other in-game changes. We'll continue to fine-tune the stats and mechanics of playable SCPs based on the variable gameplay experience.
The update will also contain a number of bug fixes and backend changes. If you wish to learn more about this update, please refer to this document for a full list of changes. Please note that the exact values are subject to change, as they may be adjusted when the testing phase concludes. Now, let’s move onto our long-term goals.
Heavy Containment Visual Overhaul
We've recently welcomed a number of new artists to the studio — artists who have since been working incredibly hard to bring you a visual update to the existing Heavy Containment Zone!
Please note that these are still in its early stage, and are subject to change. New room variants and layouts are also planned, but please note that this is primarily a visual touch-up for the existing Heavy Containment Zone. Its current version features room models from different eras of our development timeline, resulting in noticeably inconsistent aesthetics. Resolving this issue is something which our artists are excited to work on, and is a goal which they can comfortably work towards — as it doesn’t detract from other level design projects.
Weapon System Enhancements
Towards the end of the last year, we’ve announced our plans to rework the Experimental Weapons (covered in this post), but we’ve encountered several limitations during implementation. The weapons system was written as part of the Parabellum update nearly three years ago, alongside the rework of all in-game items. While working on the implementation of the new Experimental Weapons, it became clear that our framework would have difficulties supporting such unconventional guns.
We’ve decided that shifting our focus to a firearm-focused refactor is the best course of action. This also gives us an opportunity to adjust some core mechanics. It’s important to note that while most of the firearm code is being written from scratch, this refactor isn’t nearly as massive as the one that occurred during Parabellum.
The following section is a summary of an older Patreon teaser, which is publicly available here. We recommend that you give it a read if you wish to learn more.
Conventional Weapon Changes
Our general goal is to slightly lessen the learning curve to make it easier for beginners to grasp more of the weapon system(s). The intent of these changes are to place players on a more level playing field in the event of a gunfight, while still allowing skillful plays to shine. We also hope to address some problematic attachments such as scopes, lasers, and suppressors.
Line-of-fire Indicators
Our game lacks sufficient indicators when stepping into line of fire, especially when the shooter is using a suppressed weapon. To counter this, we’ve decided to add more audiovisual cues.
Firing a weapon will now have a chance to produce a tracer — a bright particle effect simulating the bullet's trajectory. This allows for easier identification of the shooter’s direction, and warns players before they step into a line of fire. The game still utilises hitscan, meaning that the effect is purely cosmetic — playing after the hit is already calculated. Tracers produce a “whooshing” sound as they fly next to the player.
Bullets hitting an obstacle or player will now produce an impact sound. While this is a simple feature, it serves as an important cue. This significantly lowers the effectiveness of suppressors in hallway camping situations. The bullet holes themselves have also received a number of additional effects, making it easier to identify what other players were/are trying to shoot.
Running Accuracy
In Parabellum, we introduced a system that hampered accuracy while running or jumping. It was introduced as a means of solving a problem involving awkward gameplay in gunfights, as the most effective method used to be jumping around in an attempt to lower the chance of an enemy hitting you. Our current running accuracy penalty is very high, forcing players to rely on lasers to make their weapons usable. To address this issue, we’ll be lowering the baseline running penalty for all firearms, allowing more guns to remain usable while running. In addition, the lasers will no longer affect running accuracy, only the baseline hip-firing accuracy. This'll mean that the accuracy penalty added while sprinting will only depend on the type of weapon used, weight, and length.
In addition, accuracy will now be presented as ‘accurate range’, which sounds more intuitive than ‘angular dispersion of inaccuracy’ to newer players, but you may choose to switch back to the old units in the UI settings.
Other
There’re a number of smaller issues which we’re planning to resolve during this rework:
The recoil will be simplified, reducing the sudden changes in horizontal sway. This makes the weapons more controllable, even to players with no knowledge of their recoil patterns.
To increase the relevance of semi-automatic pistols, they will now fire continuously upon holding the fire button. This turns them into less powerful SMGs, with near-instant draw time, greatly increasing their viability as a backup weapon.
The Night Vision Scope will now produce a less blurry image, while Telescopic Sights will slightly increase the density of fog, levelling out the chances of two players spotting each other.
Revolver Rework
The .44 Revolver was the first model created for Parabellum, made by Mikel — our newest artist at the time. Mikel has since learned a number of new skills over the years, and has always kept a vested interest in improving upon the Revolver's model — but we’ve never had a good opportunity which would allow him to do so. However, the recent weapon rewrite, combined with Mikel’s lack of current assignments, opened a window for a relatively seamless integration of this project.
As of now, the Revolver is the divisive gun in the game. It’s not friendly to new players, not easily adaptable to different playstyles, and generally has little place among the other guns the game has to offer. We’ve decided to redesign the revolver to become a much more adaptable and powerful sidearm, so that a greater number of players actually find use with it.
The Revolver will be remodelled and will receive a new set of attachments, mechanics, and animations. It will remain a sidearm for Chaos Insurgency Marauders, with the Shotgun serving as their primary weapon. It'll also retain a similar attachment layout, with options to change barrels, cylinders, sights, and grips.
The most noticeable change will be the new 7-shot cylinder, which'll replace the current 8-shot one. It features .410 buckshot rounds, turning the revolver into an effective close-quarters weapon at the cost of headshot capability. This adaptability is sorely lacking from the current revolver; which forces the user to adapt to a certain playstyle, instead of the player customising the revolver to their liking. We’re also adding a flashlight attachment, which means the Revolver is no longer the only gun in the game to lack one.
Other projects
We’re currently working on several other smaller projects, which we’re planning to cover in future posts. As an example, we’ve been working on solutions that would address the elevator camping problem, but we haven’t yet decided on our final course of action — so we aren’t comfortable sharing any details.
In addition, we’ve started work on the Reinforcement Overhaul, which is another project focusing on reworking the respawn system. It incorporates a number of new objectives, affecting which team will spawn, and how often. We’re also introducing a concept of ‘mini-waves’, a smaller wave of reinforcements which can be earned by a respawning team shortly after a full respawn, designed to compensate those who have died too early.
From other exciting news, we've finished work on all our reworked character models, and our teams have been working on animating them during these past few months. Stay tuned for future posts, which will provide more details about these changes.
The Internet is not a safe place
Dear Community Members,
I address you today regarding a situation that deeply concerns us all. A few weeks ago, we received reports about alleged instances of child grooming associated with an individual connected to Northwood. We’ve acted swiftly, cutting our connections on the same day of the report. Due to the sensitivity of this matter, we’ve decided not to comment on that situation publicly, and hand over this case to relevant authorities. While many of us remained active on social media platforms, answering questions, the lack of an official statement was misinterpreted as us pretending like everything’s alright — it’s not.
The internet is not a safe place for children, it can be exploited by pedophiles through tactics like child grooming. While this form of exploitation extends far beyond our platform, I feel personally responsible for informing you of these dangers. Predators often use their position to appear as trustworthy individuals. This allows them to establish relationships with children, gradually manipulating them into engaging in inappropriate or harmful activities.
If you are a witness to any suspicious behavior from anyone associated with Northwood, particularly concerning the welfare of children, I urge every one of you to immediately report this to relevant authorities and our team. We aren’t able to keep our eyes everywhere, and we heavily rely on your reports.
You can contact my Human Resources team at hr@scpslgame.com — you can also report any other form of staff misconduct, including but not limited to harassment, discrimination, abuse of power, etc. Your fast response could be crucial in preventing further harm.
We have multiple people working for us, having access to this mailbox. This ensures fastest response time and prevents any bias from an individual from affecting the case. Despite their best efforts, if you believe your case has been mishandled, or it requires extra confidentiality, please send your report directly to me at hubert@scpslgame.com
Please spread awareness about these dangers and stay safe when talking to strangers online. Remember that not everyone may be who they say they are. If someone tries to pressure you into doing something you're not comfortable with or makes you feel scared or confused, trust your instincts and talk to a trusted adult immediately. Thank you for your attention and support.
Hubert Moszka
Northwood x Terabit Hosting
Exciting news!
Northwood Studios is thrilled to announce a brand-new partnership with Terabit Hosting, making it easier than ever to host your own SCP: Secret Laboratory servers directly through the game!
What does this mean for you?
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Improved performance: enjoy smooth gameplay with optimized servers designed specifically for SCP: Secret Laboratory.
Enhanced security: benefit from Terabit's DDoS protection and advanced security measures to keep your servers safe and secure.
Want to try out a game server? Here's a 25% off discount code for 3 months: NWDEAL
Version 13.4.2
Hello everyone. This update consists of some fixes to our most recent release, version 13.4.1.
Fixed an issue disallowing SCP-173 to kill targets.
Cleaned up code responsible for handling stamina usage and weapon targeting.
Thank you all, and see you in the dark. ~ Northwood Studios
Version 13.4.1 is now live!
Hello everyone. Following the recent conclusion of the Christmas event update, we’re launching a hotfix with numerous balance changes, bug fixes, and backend system updates.
SCP Balance Changes
SCP-096
Increased docile movement speed to 3.9m/s (from 3.64).
SCP-096’s screams can now be heard from further away.
Decreased damage of SCP-096’s primary attack to 60 (from 85).
SCP-096’s Charge now deals 35 damage to non-targets (from 45).
Decreased initial Hume Shield to 450 (from 600).
Decreased maximum Hume Shield to 900 (from 1200).
When entering rage, Hume Shield no longer halves.
Increased the delay before Hume Shield regenerates to 15 seconds (from 10).
Hume Shield now regenerates twice as fast while Try Not to Cry is being used. This does not affect the delay before Hume Shield begins to regenerate.
SCP-939
Base health increased to 2700.
Reduced sprint speed to 6.8m/s (from 7).
Reduced maximum stamina to 10 seconds of usage (from 13).
Reduced Mimicry’s cooldown to 3 seconds (from 10).
Reduced Claw attack speed to 0.8s between attacks (from 0.6).
Active generators now produce sound ripples, aiding in pinpointing their locations.
SCP-049-2
Increased maximum speed from Lobotomized Bloodlust to 5.4m/s (from 5.17).
Consuming a corpse will now temporarily max out Lobotomized Bloodlust’s speed increase for a few seconds.
Targets marked by SCP-049’s Good Sense of the Doctor will now show the indicator to SCP-049-2 instances.
SCP-079
Rooms connected by an elevator will now have an icon on SCP-079’s map. Clicking this icon allows SCP-079 to directly visit the room at the top of the elevator.
Disabled ability to switch zones by using movement keys. A setting has been added to re-enable this behaviour.
Improvements and Bug Fixes
Re-added the new SCP-049 and door audio.
Improved Spectator HUD and Muting Settings.
‘Mute other spectators’ no longer mutes the end-game round summary and pre-game lobby voice chats.
Added a ‘Mute pre-game lobby’ option.
Added an option allowing users to mute the end-game round summary screen in the settings menu.
All mute options are now additionally available in the settings menu.
Role names on the spectator player list have been shortened where possible.
Added Hitmarker sound indicators.
Optimized memory usage by the Hotkey system.
Fixed “access denied” sounds not triggering properly by locked generators.
Fixed Massive Labyrinth not muting after death.
Fixed SCP-106’s doors not being openable by SCP-079 during the Alpha Warhead detonation process.
Fixed an out-of-bounds exploit regarding Entrance Zone checkpoints.
Fixed video setting sliders not permitting typing in decimal numbers.
Fixed the `showtag` command being overridden by the badge preference setting.
Added Dutch translations.
Added Galician translations.
Added Turkish translations.
Technical and Backend Changes
SCPs no longer look strictly for human players when trying to find targets. Now uses a team-based approval system.
Added the `IsStatic` property to primitive objects. This disables constant position syncing.
Improved QR codes in the Remote Admin console.
Made multiple optimizations related to querying users in Remote Admin.
Improved Staff Chat
Removed Staff Chat from the Administration tab — it now has its own tab.
When sending a message, the input will now be cleared automatically.
Messages can now be sent with the ‘Enter’ key.
Staff Chat now utilises a user’s group colour instead of one based on their current role.
Refactored some code.
Fixed an issue where some author information would be lost upon the start of a new round.
Fixed instances of LocalAdmin input occasionally being mishandled.
Patched multiple vulnerabilities related to the Remote Admin console.
Fixed player queries incorrectly being logged as accessing IP addresses.
Fixed query data incorrectly being copied based on prior queries.
Fixed IP Address Passthrough being ignored when querying multiple players.
Fixed UseGlobalBans being ignored in full authentication.
Keep your eyes peeled for further updates on the horizon.
Have fun, and see you in the dark. ~ Northwood Studios