Updated icon thumbnails for the cat's color changes.
Small visual improvements at the Savannah level.
Bugfixes
Fixed an issue with the display of 'New' tags for various UI elements.
Fixed a bug where auto-changing glyphs while controls were shown in Photo Mode wouldn't work properly.
Fixed a small bug with the 'Swap Sticks' control option.
Fixed a bug where remapping certain inputs with a controller could leave those inputs unusable.
Important note
For those that have already played the demo, the next time you launch the game, any input rebind settings that you have will be reset to their default values. There were some under-the-hood changes to the input system that unfortunately required this, so apologies for any inconvenience!
(If for some reason your photo mode inputs aren't working, that means the rebinds didn't reset properly, and you'll need to manually do it via the options menu).
Demo Update -- 0.9.9.1
...and another little update for the demo!
Patch Notes for Demo 0.9.9.1:
Additions & Tweaks
Added the ability to remove an input binding from a specific action (while rebinding, press the same input as the one you're trying to change and it will remove that binding).
Added an option to keep the time/weather display permanently shown (in Gameplay settings).
Implemented better controller navigation for purchase menus.
Improved the way inventory/menu slots would respond to button input (controllers/keyboard) and mouse input when alternating between the two.
Input glyphs should now switch on the fly as you trigger input from alternating devices (eg. switching between a controller and mouse/keyboard).
If you haven't previously set your preferred language, the game will now use your operating system's language by default.
Bugfixes
Fixed a handful of UI-related bugs.
Demo Update -- 0.9.9
Small update for the demo!
Patch Notes for Demo 0.9.9:
Additions & Tweaks
Added additional inputs for controller navigation for most menus throughout the game.
Added a 'Graphics Quality' option for lower-end hardware (on Steam Deck, this is set to 'Low' by default).
Added the ability to zoom in a bit while sitting in chairs (right click).
Improved readability of many UI elements while playing on Steam Deck.
Bugfixes
Fixed save/load for Daily Tasks.
Fixed a missing input glyph on the Jobs Gallery menu.
Fixed an issue where the screen could turn black after closing the Level Up Rewards menu while Photo Processing was open.
Smoothed out the lighting transitions around dawn and dusk.
Various tweaks and fixes to many UI elements.
Demo Update -- 0.9.8
Hello! We have a new update for the demo as it continues to be brought up to speed with certain features that will be present in the full game.
Patch Notes for Demo 0.9.8:
Additions & Tweaks
Added a (demo limited) Card Shop, which overhauls the pack buying experience to be more in line with the full game's features.
Added a variety of new sound effects for the wildlife.
Improved the transition/smoothness of the 'target switch' mechanic during photo mode.
Greatly improved performance while menus are open (so your GPU now shouldn't have to work very hard while the game is paused, for example).
Bugfixes
Fixed some alignment issues with certain UI elements.
Fixed a minor camera jitter that happened when finishing opening a pack of cards.
Fixed an incorrect text label in the Level Up Rewards screen.
Fixed a bug where the game's main camera could misbehave while in photo mode with menus open.
Fixed a number of bugs where some pop-up windows could (unintentionally) show a solid black background.
Fixed a bug where the Demo Complete screen would allow you to click on things that shouldn't be clickable.
Big Demo Update & Localization
Hello!
We have a fairly hefty update for the demo that includes (finally!) localization. The sidebar on our store page lists our currently supported languages-- if your preferred language isn't included, we hope to add more in the future once we have the budget for it!
Aside from that, we've been doing some work to make the wildlife more interesting and fun to take photos of, and made some significant tweaks to the environments, making them more authentic and hopefully enjoyable to spend some time in.
Full update notes below!
Patch Notes for Demo 0.9.7:
Big(ish) changes
Added 9 languages to the game.
Added a new wildlife species to the demo (Wildebeest).
Drastically overhauled how the wildlife works-- there are now more species onscreen at once (with more variety), and they should behave a little more naturally as well. Also added a few more animations to the elephants and tweaked some existing ones to be a little smoother.
Overhauled the 'Savannah' level's environment.
Additions & Tweaks
Significantly improved the jitter/smearing while using TAA (anti-aliasing).
Expanded the Credits page.
Added a 'Hide UI' toggle for non-photo mode gameplay (it's in the bottom-right corner).
Added a button to toggle constellation lines that will be visible at night (it's in the bottom-right corner).
Added a 'Slow Time' feature during photo mode while the Processing panel is open.
Replaced the placeholder radio track with one that will be used in the full game.
Added volume slider to the radio UI.
Added a 'headphones' mode to the radio. When it's off, the radio sounds more like a small radio would in the real world.
Increased the range of camera movement while sitting in chairs.
Various UI tweaks to improve readability.
Replaced scones with cake.
Bugfixes
Fixed some minor bugs with clicking on input rebind slots.
Fixed a few bugs with the Input Rebind system -- NOTE: Gamepad users may need to restore their input rebinds to default values through the Options menu.
Many other small tweaks and fixes.
One small note is that performance on low-end devices (eg. Steam Deck) is a bit slower now with the additional wildlife and environment tweaks. I have some plans to optimize this in the future and add a few Options menu settings that will also help.
We should also have some news within the next couple of weeks about a final release date, so stay tuned for that!
Thanks for playing Seclusa!
Demo Update -- 0.9.6
Hello! This update fixes some issues, adds a few things, and lays the groundwork for some future (more substantial) updates.
Patch Notes for Demo 0.9.6:
Additions & Tweaks
Removed various 'Help' popups and redistributed any crucial information to other parts of the game to be delivered in a more intuitive way.
Lots of small changes to the game's fonts and general UI in preparation for an upcoming localization update.
In Photo Mode, you can now continue to orbit the camera while time is frozen with the Processing menu open (click and drag anywhere outside of the Processing menu).
You can now close the Pause menu with the 'back' button/key ('B' by default).
Made the card/pack tilt feature a little more responsive while opening packs of cards.
Added the ability to immediately buy another pack at the end of opening one (if you don't have any left).
Bugfixes
Removed (another!) debug key that found its way into the public build.
Fixed some bugs where input glyphs could disappear when unpausing the game.
Fixed a bug where you could take a photo while the Processing menu was closing, and the menu would show up in the photo.
Fixed a bug where the Daily Tasks couldn't be shown via your Inventory while the Photo Processing menu was also open.
Fixed a bug that could freeze the game if you tried to cancel a rebind immediately after clicking a rebind slot.
Fixed a bug where a few inputs wouldn't register as remappable.
Fixed a bug where the game could lock up in certain situations if you quit to title, then resumed your save.
Demo Update -- 0.9.5
Hello! We have a small-ish update for the demo to address a few issues...
Patch Notes for Demo 0.9.5:
Additions & Tweaks
Added a 'quit to title' option from the pause screen.
Changed the mouse input glyphs to be more clear and readable.
Made some tweaks to the smoothness and consistency of the camera movement.
Slight tweaks to the cat's behavior/animations.
Bugfixes
Fixed an issue with 'negative mouse acceleration' while using the photo camera or sitting in a chair.
Fixed an issue where higher framerates could result in lower look sensitivity.
Fixed a bug where the wrong input glyphs (or none) would show at certain parts of the game.
Fixed a bug where the 'help' button for the Camera Upgrades menu wouldn't work at the Lodge.
Fixed a bug where save files wouldn't always load the correct jigsaw puzzle art.
Fixed some other bugs with the save/load system.
Fixed a bug where a debug key slipped into the public build (whoops!)
You may have to re-adjust your 'camera sensitivity' setting in the Options menu due to some of the changes!
Also, there are still known issues with the Daily Tasks and how they interact with the save/load system, but the Daily Tasks in general will work a little differently in the full game, so it's an issue that will be solved a bit further down the road. In the meantime, they work fine, but don't always load correctly when playing a previous save.
Demo Update, New Trailer, & Earth Appreciation Festival!
Hello!
We have a few things to cover in this post!
First, even though Seclusa is yet to release, we're still happy to be a part of the Earth Appreciation Festival, which just started today. You can check out the festival here!
We also have a new trailer! Well, it's really just an updated reworking of our old trailer, which had a number of things that have since been dramatically changed or outright removed from the game (ah, game development). You can check it out below, or over on our store page.
And finally, we have another update for the demo with a handful of cool, new additions-- notably, saving and loading! It should be noted, however, that saved progress in the demo won't transfer to the full game. It's mostly for those that want to check out everything in the demo, but over multiple play sessions. (It's also a way for us to test the save/load system in the wild to make sure it's bug-free before the full release, so if you have any issues, please let us know!)
...I think that's all for now, so I'll leave you with the update notes!
Patch Notes for Demo 0.9.4:
Big changes
Saving / Loading has been implemented.
Added a helper tutorial when you've gone into photo mode for the first time.
Smaller changes
Opening the menu for customizing the cat now zooms into the cat for a closer look.
Wildlife now does a much better job of avoiding each other while moving around.
Completing a job now 'consumes' the photo used for that job.
Swapped out the 'Complete a Puzzle' objective for a different one.
Added a 'confirm' button for changing to a new time via the Time Change menu.
Slightly reduced the amount of cursor tilt the cards had while viewing them.
Smoothed out the photo camera's panning controls a bit.
Various visual improvements throughout the game.
Bugfixes
Fixed an issue with the photo camera clipping through the grass in certain situations.
Fixed grass clipping through zebras while lying down.
Fixed some issues with UI elements under aspect ratios other than 16:9.
Fixed a bug where deleted photos weren't being dumped from memory.
Fixed a bug where certain vegetation at the Savannah could become overexposed.
Fixed an issue where completing a job wouldn't refresh the remaining jobs slots with an updated tally of your qualifying photos.
Fixed some issues with the display resolution dropdown menu.
Fixed an issue where gamepad input wasn't working with scroll bars on some menus.
Various other small fixes and tweaks.
Big Demo Update!
Hello!
We've been busy over the last few months making some substantial overhauls to Seclusa, many of which have found their way into a big update for the demo.
While the game isn't too fundamentally different, there are some new features and mechanics that we'd like to quickly highlight here.
Cards
This is one of those features that has appeared and disappeared from various iterations of Seclusa over the past couple of years, but now we're bringing it back for good!
You'll be able to earn packs of collectible cards by completing various in-game goals and tasks (or just by purchasing them with credits). We're planning to have a fairly large collection in the full game to work toward.
Objectives
We've overhauled our previous 'Objectives' mechanic to be...well...much more interesting! Instead of the same time and weather goals per species, each level now has its own set of objectives to work toward in addition to a global set that spans the entire game.
These objectives encompass a variety of mostly non-photography things you can do throughout the game.
Compendium
We've also implemented a simple wildlife compendium to help keep track of the various species you'll come across.
Jobs
You'll now have access to a Jobs Board, which gives an endless, dynamic supply of photography requests from various conservation groups. Like just about everything else in the game, these can be completed entirely at your own pace. (It is, however, limited in functionality for the demo!)
...and a number of other notable changes:
Leveling up is now simpler and more streamlined.
Added a new mechanic for customizing the cat.
You can now sit in the outdoor chairs at the Savannah level.
Distant 'ambient' wildlife now populates outdoor levels.
New animations for the zebras.
Improved the elephant's model with more detail and variety.
Overhauled most menu screens.
Increased your starting photo storage.
The in-world camera model has been complete redesigned.
Various UI improvements and tweaks to make things generally more readable.
Performance improvements.
...and lots of bugfixes!
Seclusa's Wildlife
One additional point to touch on is that we're currently in the middle of rewriting and overhauling how most of the wildlife behavior works in the full game, aiming for a more organic and interesting experience while you're hanging out at various locations. These changes aren't in the current version of the demo, but will be updated in at some point!
Release Update
As a final note, some may have already noticed that we've changed the release date on our Steam page to Q2 2025, which is a small delay from our previous plans. We're still not quite at a point where we can confidently determine the specific date, but we're pretty certain that it will be late April or early May.
We'll have more concrete plans in this regard over the coming month or so as we ready a final trailer, which will likely also contain the announced release date, so stay tuned for that!
In the meantime, if you've already played the demo, it might be worth jumping in again to see what's changed, and if you haven't yet tried it, we hope you'll give it a shot!
Demo Update -- 0.8.2
Patch Notes for Demo 0.8.2:
Tweaks
Smoothed out lighting transitions at the lodge during certain times of day.
Small changes to how Daily Tasks are displayed.
General optimizations and performance improvements.
Bugfixes
Improved wildlife pathfinding and collision to prevent some of the erratic behavior and clipping from previous versions.
Fixed a number of issues relating to the display of controller glyphs.
Fixed compatibility issues with DualSense controllers (and probably DualShock as well, though they haven't been specifically tested).
Fixed some issues relating to having multiple controllers plugged in simultaneously (the game should work fine, but this still isn't advised as there could be undesirable results relating to glyph display and input rebinding).
