From the moment we decided to launch into Early Access, we’ve aimed to make our development process as transparent as possible and bring our players along for the ride.
A little over a month ago, we mentioned the so-called Nightly Builds in our patch notes, describing them as something we wanted to experiment with in the near future.
Today is that day!
For those unfamiliar, a Nightly Build is a development build that updates daily. Basically, if any progress toward an update has been made, that progress will be uploaded to Steam before one of the developers goes to sleep.
These builds are likely to be unstable, very buggy, and may not even work from time to time, but they can be very interesting for those who want to see how things are shaping up.
With Nightly Builds becoming a thing, there are now 3 Branches players can pick from. Let's briefly go over these:
Default (none): This is where most players are. Everything here is thoroughly tested, polished, and stable. If this is your first time playing Selaco, this is the version we highly recommend.
Beta Branch: A curated version that combines several Nightly Builds from the past 2–3 weeks. It’s our way of offering newer content with fewer bugs, making it more stable and playable.
Nightly: Untested changes that may not even work. Will the game boot up? Will VAC-Bots multiply? Who knows what happens in here! This is only recommended for those who want to stay deeply involved with the development process and report their thoughts early.
Important: Nightly development is all about the next possible update that we will launch onto Steam! If there’s no new Nightly one day, don’t worry! it usually means we were working on something bigger, like Chapter 2 content or features meant for a future update that aren’t ready to show just yet.
The best expectation is to have no expectations at all! Nightly Builds can go in any direction.
It’s entirely possible that the Nightly for that day won’t even boot up successfully. Or, when we’re in the middle of reworking some systems, it might be so buggy that a normal playthrough becomes nearly impossible. Enemies might bleed red instead of purple, all pizza boxes might be empty, or Dawn might burp at random intervals.
However, if a build goes well, you'll have access to the newest changes earlier than anyone else! You may even get to play around with (potentially stupid) experimental stuff that might never make it into the final game.
If something goes wrong, you can always switch back to the Beta or Default branch. Just make sure to save often to avoid lost progress in case of a broken save
We're currently in the middle of a significant performance pass that reworks Smoke and Particle Effects from the ground up.
Our goal is to keep them visually identical, but make them far more efficient in terms of CPU usage. Current tests show major improvements, especially during combat, but there's still a long way to go!
Some things may look a little off in the Nightly Build as we’re in the process of migrating to the new particle system.
Similar to the Public Beta!
Go to your Steam Library
Right Click on 'Selaco'
Click on 'Properties'
On the right side of the screen, press 'beta'
Click on the Dropdown Menu
Select 'Nightly'
Wait for the download the finish
Going back to a more stable build works the same. Just click on PublicBeta or Default instead!
Feedback is welcome, but not necessary! Really, it's entirely up to you.
There's a solid chance we are fully aware of the issues, largely because it's all mid-development stuff. But if you believe it's something we can easily miss, or think it's worth mentioning, please do not hesitate to do so!
Three options!
Selaco has a very cozy Discord community that you are more than welcome to join. Feel free to report anything in the Forum category.
Email me directly via wesley@alteredorbitstudios.com.
We're very excited to hear what everyone thinks of the Nightly Builds. Like most of what we're doing, it's a very experimental approach, but one we really enjoy doing.
Thank you for sticking with us, as always!
Burger Flipper - Major Content Update
This Update is sponsored by Pluto Burger - Almost as big as a PLANET!
Dear Burger Flipper Playtester,
Zynzu Entertainment here! First off, a huge thank you for playtesting our mobile game, Burger Flipper, as we prepare to launch it to the masses of Selaco. We're in the home stretch, and our best friends at Pluto Burger are eagerly awaiting the finished product.
Just one more obstacle ahead; surviving the upcoming review embargo! Be aware that one of the highlights in this build is the introduction of microtransactions, which will be hidden in the Review Build. As far as reviewers are concerned, they do not exist. So please keep quiet about them.
We're nearly there. Test, test, test! Alright?
Burger Flipper v0.3 Changelog
[An update for Selaco has been pushed to Steam. Burger Flipper v0.3 will be available on your Datapad after updating.]
Added Global Save System
Progress is no longer tied to your local Datapad! If you were to, somehow, start a life, you can now continue where you left off. Just make sure to click the button to convert your existing save into a Cloud Save. Or Global Save... Whatever the term is post-Exodus.
Added a bunch of Cosmetic Burger Skins
Now featuring Gwyn Burger, VAC-Burger, and more that we will not spoil. You will not believe what the last one is!
Added Achievement System
Improve your Gamer cred by achieving Burger Flipping milestones.
Added Battle Pass
Complete achievements to earn Points for your Battle Pass. Unlock exclusive new Skins and Gems to use in the store.
Added Golden Burger Events
These rare burgers spawn periodically to boost burger flipping productivity—but they don’t stick around for long! Click fast or miss out.
Added In-Game Shop
You can now spend your hard-earned Selver Credits on some in-game items.
Added Uninstall Button
Our business experts said this was a terrible idea, but we did it anyway! Burger Flipper can now be uninstalled from your Datapad.
Added Prestige System
Acquiring the final Production Building now lets you Prestige. Prestige resets your progress, but spawns more Golden Burgers, unlocks a new Mirror Universe Production Building, and gives more chances to earn rewards.
Added In-Game Advertisements
Someone ask Charlie from PR if this is meant to be listed here. Probably not the feature everyone was waiting for.
Other improvements
- Fully redid all Burger Flipper sound effects - Added larger number displays for your burger horde (Quintillion, Bazillion, etc.) - Added anti-cheat measures. it occurred to us that most playtesters we're cheating??
Conclusion
Our next step is to introduce Loot Box mechanics, but oh boy... So far, AOS/ACE are putting a hard stop to it. Blah blah blah—bad influence on children, blah blah blah—gambling... or whatever.
We’ll keep pushing back on this, as we believe there’s plenty of pride and accomplishment to be had here. For now, please ignore the Gem button—it won’t do anything.
Kind regards, Zynzu Entertainment
*All features are completely free. We have no intention of ever adding any actual microtransactions to Selaco.
Selaco v0.88 Update + State of Development
Greetings captains,
The Spring Sale is here, and we've put the game on our biggest discount yet (again!). If you purchased the game at full price about a week ago, don't worry—you can request a refund for the price difference by contacting Steam Support. Just point them to this blog post as confirmation that we’re fully on board with it.
If you do not own the game yet, you can get it right below for 30% cheaper during the Spring Sale. And better yet... if you own Fallen Aces, Echo Point Nova, or Mullet Madjack, it'll be even cheaper for you!
Please consider reviewing the game if you haven't already. They help immensely and we do read all of them!
Let's dive into the State of Development before we go through the patch notes, as there's quite a bit to talk about.
Chapter 2 is where most of our time is being spent these days, and the majority of the team is dedicating their full development time to it. We're happy to share that things are coming along very nicely, and the number of roadblocks we've encountered so far has been minimal at best!
There's a lot to share and a lot we'd love to see reactions to, but we are going to hold off for now and save it for a trailer in the future. Instead, have a voxel chicken. One of the many new food items in Chapter 2.
And, fine, a Sniper. They will eventually replace the snipers we currently use in Chapter 1, as we're not quite satisfied with them and think they could be a bit more dynamic.
Selaco is a big game, and there’s still plenty of work ahead before we’re ready to leave Early Access. To keep development moving at a steady pace, we’ve brought in some new talent to assist with programming!
We’re excited to welcome Nick London to the team! He has a lot of experience working on game engines, including building his own from scratch for The Last Exterminator; a game you may have heard of before, and one we can highly recommend based on the demo alone.
If you're a fan of the game, rest assured that Nick's involvement with Selaco has no bearing on The Last Exterminator's development. In fact, it was one of the first things we talked about! I can also assure everyone that his game is coming along nicely.
Let's get a bit more specific below.
On top of many smaller endeavors, two big projects have been set in motion that aim to improve Selaco's performance significantly across all systems.
Particle System Overhaul We want combat to feel punchy, intense, and dramatic, using a variety of effects to spice up the action.
However, the way we currently calculate and render these effects leaves a lot of room for improvement, often causing noticeable frame drops when too many explosions or bullets fill the screen. Based on benchmarks and user feedback, this is easily our biggest performance bottleneck when it involves action.
To address this, we're developing a brand-new Particle System built directly into the engine (which is why we brought Nick on board). This will reduce the computational load, ensuring smoother performance across the board.
Light Baking Every light source in Selaco is fully dynamic, allowing for interactive features like destructible and flickering lights, and functional light switches. However, most lights don’t have these interactions but are still rendered dynamically. This is problematic because dynamic lighting is expensive to render and offers no visual advantage when interactivity isn’t needed.
We are exploring a way to implement static lights by baking lighting data directly into level geometry and textures. This would eliminate their performance cost entirely/mostly, leading to significantly improved frame rates, while interactive lights remain as dynamic as they’ve always been. And who knows, maybe we can use this technique to make Selaco look even better by baking more accurate shadows into the game.
VKDoom / GZDoom has been working on this for a while and hopefully we can get it ported into Selaco in the future. If you want to see an example of where this technology is used, take a look at Disdain (demo available!)
Moving forward, I (Nexxtic) will no longer be working from home! I've secured an office space nearby where I'll be dedicating all my time to Selaco development, with fewer distractions for my ADHD-fueled brain. Selaco has been a huge success (thanks to all of you!), and it’s time to take this job more seriously by setting up a dedicated workspace.
Every update moving forward will likely introduce a few new additions to the Special Campaign. It's a fun outlet for us, as it allows us to lean into a more 'video gamey' approach, rather than something highly immersive. It’s a nice change of pace, development-wise.
We’re currently brainstorming a lot of potential ideas, including meta-progression systems to encourage repeated playthroughs in the Special Campaign, Challenge Runs, presets, improved randomization, and more.
Progress on this will be a little slower, as we've got our hands full with Chapter 2 and the Story Update, but it'll be moving forward from time to time.
A new type of beta will be added very soon, called the 'Nightly,' which is a bit more experimental.
The Nightly will be updated almost every day, provided there’s progress on Chapter 1-related work. Essentially, once our workday ends, we’ll upload progress directly to the Nightly. Once it has received enough updates and is considered 'stable,' those changes will be pushed to the Public Beta Build (hopefully automatically). Let’s briefly go over the different versions:
Default (none): This is where most players are. Everything here is thoroughly tested, polished, and stable. If this is your first time playing Selaco, this is the version we highly recommend.
Beta Branch: A collection of multiple Nightly builds uploaded over the past 2-3 weeks. While not entirely stable, it will definitely be more stable than a Nightly.
Nightly: Untested changes that may not even work. Will the game boot up? Will VAC-Bots multiply? Who knows what happens in here! This is only recommended for those who want to stay deeply involved with the development process and report their thoughts early.
We will post a new Steam Blog once the Nightly is up.
Please note, Chapter 2 content and system overhauls won’t be included in these updates, as we want to save those for one big update! Anything related to Chapter 2 will be tested privately.
We've been Beta Testing the new Engine Version with our playerbase and we're happy to report that we got all the information we need! We've been able to fix numerous crash issues and ironed out strange bugs that were introduced in this new engine.
Big thanks to everyone who helped us test! <3
Selaco's engine source code is now available on Github. This version will always be up-to-date with the current Steam Version of the game. Whenever we deploy a new update, github will also be updated.
Feel free to take it, modify it, fix it, use it. It's up to you!
Unfortunately, we have to delay this one. It’s a big project, and we need a little more time to get everything right, especially since we're also working hard on the second chapter. We've cast (the majority of) the actors and they're ready to go, but getting everything properly implemented and done right will take a bit more effort.
Next major patch!
Summary This update isn't as massive as prior ones due to Chapter 2 and Story Update focus, but still plenty of good stuff here that improves the core experience in a significant way. TL;DR for some of the highlights:
Added Unlock notifications after beating this game.
Added Visibility Welcome Screen that will be given to new players
Numerous Special Campaign improvements
Added 'No Health Regeneration' mutator
Added 'Bottomless Mags' mutator
Improved music quality
Hardcore Mode has been made more Hardcore
Lots of gameplay polish
Wires can now be shot to briefly electrocute nearby enemies
A whole bunch of new environmental reactions and effects
Improved visual clarity for players with a Low Smoke Density setting
Additional improvements to level design and scripting
Another massive sound pass
Weapon buffs and nerfs
Improved numerous art assets
Improved Error Handling
Added 'Strongbox' achievement
Audio pass for some robotic enemies
Minor Shotgun buff because why not
Performance optimizations
SPECIAL CAMPAIGN: Added Encounter Chests
SPECIAL CAMPAIGN: Added Grenadier Engineer
Optimization
Upgraded the engine to the newest GZDoom version. This will now function as our new base to expand upon. This will likely be more stable and perform slightly better
Added "Game Detail" setting. Adds additional environmental details that make the world more reactive. This includes additional bullet puff behavior, improved object collisions, bullet casing duration, and much more. New 'non-essential' world details will consider the Game Detail setting moving forward
Reworked numerous actors to be more memory-efficient
Added Background Model Loading to reduce traversal stutter
Numerous UI elements are now loaded on a different CPU thread
Upgraded numerous particle effects
Reduced the number of CVAR checks to lower CPU load
Particle effects are no longer stored in saved games, reducing file size and stutter duration when saving
WINDOWS: Fixed an error where mouse inputs would cease to function correctly when Selaco was running in the present or past
Special Campaign
Added Encounter Chests. These chests are spawned at random locations in Selaco. Interacting with an Encounter Chest spawns enemies around the room. Eliminate all enemies to get a reward
Added Engineer Grenadiers
Railgun Slugs can now spawn via the Randomizer
Storage Cabinets are no longer empty
Added numerous new Weapon Traits
Improved spawning algorithms to consider density. Maps like the Mall will no longer see extreme amounts of enemies
Reduced 'bias' to ensure Random Spawns are properly spread around the level rather than focused around certain spots
Mutators
Added "No Health Regeneration" mutator
Added "Bottomless Mags" mutator - This mutator removes the reloading mechanic
HARDCORE MODE: Removed spread and recoil limits. This makes weapons harder to control during sustained fire
HARDCORE MODE: Added option to disable spread and recoil limits
DEV NOTE: Remember, in a future update you will be able to change most Mutators via Safe Rooms. However, the end game screen will highlight which mutators have been adjusted during the run Gameplay
Reduced recoil build-up when zooming
Shooting at wire textures will now create electricity hazards. This can be used to your advantage
Explosion Area of Effect damage is now done with a spherical shape instead of a square. This makes explosion behavior more accurate and similar to modern titles
Shock duration on enemies now depends on the amount of shock damage
Reduced Airdrone bullet damage
Alerted enemies will now enter Patrol Mode when the player exits the level
Added 'Strongbox' achievement
ENEMY SENTRY GUN: Gave them a much-needed sound pass
ENEMY SENTRY GUN: Added self-lighting to make them easier to see
ENEMY SENTRY GUN: Added a slight delay before they begin attacking
ENEMY SENTRY GUN: Unalerted turrets can now be deactivated by pressing USE behind them
NAILGUN: 'Twin Barrel' has been buffed. The second nail no longer deals reduced damage
LANDMINES: Now require the 'Extractor' upgrade in order to be removed after deployment. Sorry, they were overperforming!
ESG-24 SHOTGUN: Boosted damage per pellet (32 -> 34)
There were some instances where the shotgun doesn't end up killing a target when they really should have. This small buff should reduce the amount of instances where enemies survive with 1-5HP left from an almost perfect shot. UI
Added Unlock notifications after beating this game. This will now inform players about new features that become available
Added Visibility Welcome Screen that will be shown to all players on startup. This allows players to choose between two visual modes: 'Spectacle' and 'Visibility'
Added "Early Access Roadmap" button in the main menu
Added a brand-new error system. This will make it easier for us to solve reported issues moving forward
Added a warning prompt when loading a saved game that it's incompatible
Improved ammo counter display for weapons that do not require reloading
Save Game Menu descriptions now have a scroll bar
LookAt prompts now have a smaller font when they have a lot of text
Used mods are now shown in the Save Game Menu when selecting a save
Localization support improvements.
Art
Most of the music in Selaco has been re-exported from the source. The quality should be much higher now
Improved behavior of Stretcher voxels. Rotating them will now display a proper animation and their hitboxes have been corrected
Ice Grenades now have a unique voxel model
Most weapons now have a layered gun sound, making them sound different depending on the amount of ammo left
Added particle effects when mines drill themselves into the floor
Added a new set of doodles
Improved visuals for Grenade Launcher explosions
Added carpet puffs when walking on carpet materials
Carpet textures now spawn a unique effect when hit by bullets
Added 'Cloth' material behavior
Added new dust decals
Level 1-1 and Level 1-2 have some additional ambient sounds
Numerous new combat sound effects have been added
Added animated smoke puffs
Shocked enemies will now continue shocking when dead
Improved Roaring Cricket gun sound and trail visuals
Paper particles now seamlessly transition into paper decals when touching the floor
Repainted some older art assets
Modding
Fixed crashes when giving SelacoWeapon to enemies
Level Editor will now visually display Path Node Connections
Added more virtual functions that modders can override
Bug Fixes
Fixed unintended horizontal lines on some smoke sprites. Let us know if you see any more!
Reduced amount of trash that is spawned by the ENDLESS TRASH trait
Slugs no longer cost ammo in the Shooting Range
Players no longer take damage during the Intermission Screen
Fists no longer increments 'Shots Fired' stat
'Deaf' enemies will no longer be alerted by sound
FIxed bug where keycard icons would 'jitter' on the HUD
Food items now have correct calorie properties. Water was never meant to add 50 calories to your diet!
Cars and their hitboxes no longer go out of sync during earthquakes
Lockers in Level 1-1 no longer close after 9000 ticks. They now stay open indefinitely
Fixed broken Windows Shutters in level 1-1
Weapon Traits no longer display incorrect values during the Special Campaign
'Enable Bipod' upgrade has been renamed to 'Bipod'
Fixed error where 'Paintsplosion' trait would spawn Purple paint only.
Gravity Manipulator no longer behaves incorrectly when used without ammo
Fixed an error where Keyboards would sometimes be pushed by player collision
Knifes now correctly break apart when used against armored enemies
Knife kills against Siegers no longer turn them into Rifleman
Fixed a bug where Iron Fury did not ignite enemies correctly
Removed 'BEEP SPEED' debug in the console that was never meant to be there
Fixed rare crash caused by Ammo Warnings
World Items that cost 0 Selver Credits no longer displays your credit balance on the HUD
Fixed incorrect animation timing in Save Menu
Allied projectiles no longer spawn a smoke puff against killed enemies
Sentry Gun and Combat VAC-Bot kills no longer counts towards the UC-36 Kill stat
Plasma Area of Effect kills are now considered Plasma Rifle kills
Target Dummies no longer have rarities during the Special Campaign
Fixed 'Unknown Folder' crashes on Windows 11
Fixed potential crashes caused by Pathfinding
Fire Resistance for Juggernauts now works as intended
If you ran into any issues or simply prefer the old version, you can go back to an older version by rolling back using the Steam Beta features
Go to your Steam Library
Right Click on 'Selaco'
Click on 'Properties'
On the right side of the screen, press 'beta'
Click on the Dropdown Menu
Select 'version_v0.87'
Wait for the download the finish
You are now back to the old version of the game!
Once again I would like to thank everyone for their support towards this project of ours, and for all the word of mouth that helped Selaco grow. It has almost been a year since we've launched and Selaco continues to perform above our expectations.
We're very grateful for the community we've built, and it makes creating updates like these all the more satisfying for us.
Looking forward towards hearing your thoughts!
Selaco is getting an Engine Upgrade - Beta Testers needed!
Hey everyone,
We have our next Game Update planned for March, but before this can launch, we are looking for some players to help us test one of the major changes.
Allow me to elaborate on what is happening.
We are upgrading the engine!
Moving forward, Selaco will be running on a vastly updated version of GZDoom. Selaco was based on GZDoom 4.8, with this new version running on GZDoom 4.13; roughly five years worth of improvements.
We've made numerous changes to the engine ourselves over the years to make Selaco possible, some of which were rooted pretty deeply into how GZDoom functions. As such, the upgrade process required a lot of additional work to pull off. We want to ensure everything still works as intended by doing a public test with our playerbase (you!).
Why does this engine upgrade matter?
This new version of the engine is what we will be building on moving forward. It runs better, has better development tools, and we need it for some of the Chapter 2 content that I cannot talk about yet!
We recently started a new engine-related project that aims to significantly improve Selaco’s performance across all systems. The upcoming State of Development in March will elaborate more on what we are trying to do. Before starting such an endeavor, it simply made the most sense to do this using an engine version that's the most future-proof.
What information are we looking for?
We are mostly interested in the following:
Stability – Did you encounter any crashes?
Bugs – Any quirks you think are engine-related and weren’t there before?
Performance – Did you notice any changes in performance compared to the old engine? If so, was it better or worse?
Does it launch? – This is an important one. During earlier testing, users reported being unable to launch the game. We have fixed these issues since, but the more people we can get to test this new build, the more likely we are to fix any issues we’ve missed before the update goes live.
Even if you have no issues to report, we would still love to hear about it!
How do I enter?
The beta is available right now for everyone who owns Selaco. To enter, follow these steps to gain access:
Go to your Steam Library
Right-click on Selaco
Click on ‘Properties’
On the left side of the new window, click on ‘Betas’
Select ‘publicbetabranch’ in the dropdown menu
Wait for the download to finish
Start the game
Where can I report feedback?
Three options!
Selaco has a very cozy Discord community that you are more than welcome to join. Feel free to give any input in the #Selaco-Lounge or #Experimental-Engine channels.
Email me directly via wesley@alteredorbitstudios.com.
A big "thank you!" to everyone who is willing to lend us a hand with this one. The more information we have, the faster things can get fixed!
Expect a new Game Update and State of Development blog post in March that goes in-depth on how the Early Access is coming along!
Kind regards,
- Nexxtic
Selaco v0.86g Update - Bugs, Stability & Balance
Hello everyone,
We're still hard at work creating the next Mega Patch, which aims to be the most significant one yet, as it adds narrative elements, significantly amps up the worldbuilding of the game and updates almost every single level.
While this is currently in the works, we've been working on a number of fixes that we wanted to patch early. This patch is not as significant as the ones we did in the past, but it’s still a good step towards making Selaco a more stable, better game. After all, why would we delay bug fixes!?
Going in!
Version 0.86g
General Improvements
Added a system that prevents floor decals from z-fighting
Added Light Effect Culling to give a slight performance boost during scenes that are heavy on lighting (e.g., multiple enemies shooting at the player)
Added precaching for animated textures to reduce potential stutters
Multiple adjustments to how UI elements are cached, aiming for more efficient memory usage
Updated an outdated texture that mentioned 'Teddy11' instead of 'Teddy13'
Added a transition effect when loading a saved game
Minor artwork revisions
Audio readability improvements for damaged Fire Extinguishers
Slightly reduced the file size, yay!
Special Campaign: Squad Leaders no longer spawn when 'Spawn Additional Squad Leaders' is disabled
Plasma Rifle
Slight increase to Damage, Magazine Capacity, and Ammo Pickup count
Added multiple Muzzle Flash variants when firing
Recolored Plasma Bolts to match the color of the Muzzle Flashes
Reduced visual clutter when firing Plasma Bolts
Added transparency to secondary crosshair elements for improved readability
Fixed some inconsistencies in Upgrade descriptions
UC-11 SMG
Shock Dart now has a small amount of Area of Effect to make landing shots easier
Fixed a bug where Shock Darts would not shock enemies when hit during a pain state
Enemy Mines
Enemy Mine Beeps are now brighter
Enemy Mine Beeps will no longer be dimmed when Dimmed Muzzle Flashes is enabled
Bug Fixes
Rain puddles no longer cause precaching issues
Toilet Paper spawns from Paper Dispensers can now be picked up
'Panic Button' upgrade no longer persists when disabled
Recovered a missing sound effect that was meant to play near ventilation shafts
Fixed a large number of crashes and stability issues
Fixed an error where Metal Shrapnel particles coming from Metal Floors would never despawn
Fixed a very stupid performance oversight with Landmines
Fixed numerous startup issues
Weapon Kits no longer show Automap Notifications when Automap Updates is turned off
Fixed Rate of Fire exploit for Elephant Rounds
Fixed an exploit where Elephant Rounds would not have any recoil
Fixed Elephant Rounds displaying incorrect stats on older Saved Games
Fixed an error where the Overblown upgrade lied about adding +3 damage
Fixed a couple of menu quirks
Fixed an error where the Grenade Launcher would be missing Display Frames when equipped shortly after loading a saved game
(Linux) Fixed Linux mouse disappearing when clicking
A few more changes are made, but unfortunately went undocumented. Sorry about that :(
Public Beta Build
I mention this often, but I think this is important and worth bringing up from time to time.
We aim to be highly transparent during the Early Access phase of the game. As such, we've added a Public Beta Branch that will always be available for use. Here, we apply updates on a weekly basis, often containing more experimental changes to the game. If you enjoy feeling more involved with the development process, feel free to join us here and give it a try!
Just be wary that there will be bugs. If VAC-Bots start multiplying and slowly start ruling over the humans, then you're having the authentic Public Beta Experience. No, this will not be canon!
Conclusion
Happy to report that everything regarding development continues to go well and there are no major obstacles to bring up. There's a lot in motion, and I'm very excited to share more with you in due time. Chapter 2 is, of course, still far away, but there's a lot to show already. Perhaps the next blog post can show some of the things we've been working on.
For the time being, here is an Anti-Armor Rocket Launcher!
Thank you for supporting our game and genuinely making Selaco even more fun to work on!
- Nexxtic
Early Access Progress & Roadmap
Hello everyone, Nexxtic here.
I hope you’ve all been doing well! As the year draws to a close, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the state of the game and the progress of our Early Access.
I’ll summarize the major changes and improvements we’ve made so far, and give you a glimpse of what’s coming next. Chapter 2 has been in full production since July, but in the meantime, I’ve been dedicating time to maintaining the current Steam version with occasional help from other people in the team.
Let's get started!
If you’re just here for the highlights of what we've done so far, or just want to see the future plans, feel free to skip ahead.
The decision to launch Selaco in Early Access was made about three years ago, shortly after we posted our Realms Deep 2021 gameplay video. With the story already written we quickly realized that, given its scale, starting 'small' was the only realistic path forward. This wasn’t an easy decision, and we had long discussions about the best approach. The concept of Early Access isn't loved by everyone, and since we often play these type of games ourselves, we completely understand why some feel that way.
From the start, we aimed to make Early Access a meaningful part of development. Instead of releasing a small portion of the game and making players wait for new content (something that can take over a year), we launched with a 10-hour-long chapter to see how it landed among players. Then, as feedback rolled in, we apply course corrections where needed while simultaneously working on the second chapter. This approach helps us understand our own game better.
We looked at how Early Access was handled in its earlier days. Games like 'The Forest' and 'Don’t Starve' stood out to me, as they were actively building the game alongside their community.
I think we've done a good job communicating with players across multiple platforms so far, and have no intent to change this. There isn’t a single post on the Steam forums or Reddit that we haven’t read or acknowledged. The extensive list of changes below is a direct result of these dialogues.
We truly hope it shows!
Since our launch in May 2024, we’ve rolled out over 10 updates to improve the core game, fix bugs, and occasionally add new bits and pieces.
If you’ve reviewed the game in the past, please consider updating your review if your biggest issues have been addressed. As a small studio, reviews are crucial and help immensely.
Below is what we've worked on so far. Keep in mind that this is not everything we've done since then, only the most noteworthy changes.
Content / Major Changes
Added Special Campaign - a new take on New Game Plus and Randomizer Modes
Introduced Unlocking System, allowing players to gain new modes or features by completing certain tasks
Enabled Public Beta feature for early access to experimental features
Added additional Weapon Upgrades and Weapon Kits
Major reworks to difficulty, weapon balance and combat
Added 'Selaco Must Fall' difficulty, an intentionally unbeatable difficulty mode
Added Workshop Support
Added an option to roll back to previous versions
Added GeForce NOW and Steam Cloud Gaming support
Option to play the original demo build from nearly 3 years ago
Full Steam Deck support, including Valve's verification
(Upcoming) Story content and character dialog updates
Quality of Life / Core Improvements
Added Steam Trading Cards and Point Shop
Weapon Kits now persist across playthroughs
Introduced Smart Ammo Pickup system
Save Protection system to avoid unfair deaths due to unpredictable AI actions
Option to change campaign difficulty mid-playthrough
Increased number of checkpoints
Smart Tutorial System to ensure tutorials are not repeated on replays
Reworked player dodging to be more useful and provide better visual feedback
Improved headshot feedback for better readability and impact
Added Backpack Reloading
Improved grenade-throwing responsiveness
Additional accessibility options
Added ‘Resume Game’ button to the Main Menu
Implemented Cloud Saving
Improved visual readability for frozen enemies
Engine rework to maintain save compatibility with every update
Expanded map screen with more icons and better controls
Rebalanced difficulty settings
Improved keycard visibility
Added 'Smoke Density' setting for additional visibility
Enhanced weapon upgrade station UI
Added Audio Device settings to switch playback device in real-time
Added option to skip intro screens
Improved enemy footstep audio localization
Reworked Ice Damage for greater utility
Added melee kicking when fists are equipped
Implemented a proper framerate limiter
Reworked certain game sections to improve combat flow and signposting
Vastly improved stability, resolving nearly every crash report received (Not all, but many!)
Improved menu descriptions and UI clarity
Added a custom ammo system for the shotgun
Default values are now displayed in the options menu
Fixed at least 1,000 bugs (rough estimate as we didn't keep count lol)
Immersion
Numerous improvements to immersion, including refined audio, effects, and interactables
Reworked rain visuals, including puddles and splatter effects
Added Healing Stations
Added numerous ambient sound systems to help make the world feel more alive
Most objects now feature unique sound effects upon collision with the player
Enhanced muzzle flashes for greater impact
Implemented 'Object Bumping' system
Greatly improved gore visuals and audio
Added new statistics to the Data Pad
Included additional Data Pads for world-building
Improved interactions for falling objects
Multiple iterations on particle effect improvements
Drastically improved explosion effects, including surface-specific effects (e.g., wood splinters on wooden floors), force and more
Upgraded weapon sound effects for added punch
Added maggots
Players can now pet VAC-Bots as often as they want
Enemies
Reworked enemy stagger system
Enemies now react to the player’s flashlight
Added dialog for sound-based alerts
Enemies now throw grenades at the player’s last known position
Enemies now throw grenades at allies (Combat VAC-Bots, Sentry Guns)
Patrolling behavior added for enemies that lose sight of the player
Added AI reactions for being shot in the leg
Improved enemy tactics, such as being more defensive when losing squadmates
Introduced new enemy callouts
Mutators
Introduced a system to unlock new Mutators
Added customization options for Mutators
New Mutators
"Hard-Boiled!" - Adds new layers of difficulty
"Armor Up" - Increases armor durability
"Extra Ammo" - Ammo pickups have an increase in quantity
"Defensive Enemies" - Makes enemies take on a more defensive combat style
"Half-Like" - Removes or reduces gamified elements like secrets and intermission screens
"Burger Flipper Start" - Begin the game with the true GOTY of 2024: Burger Flipper
"Legacy Item Pickups" - Removes Smart Ammo Pickups
Two things I want to get out of the way first:
The goal of the roadmap is to provide a rough idea of what we're doing, not give deadlines.
We will provide deadlines when we're confident with them, otherwise we'll be giving rough estimates!
Roadmaps, at least for us, often negatively impact development quality and leave little room to experiment with new ideas. Experimentation takes time, while roadmaps are schedule-focused and push us to chase deadlines without giving enough space to look back and improve upon older systems. I want to give the team (and by extension, myself) time to cook and try different things.
When something is in progress or priorities need to shift, we’ll let you know through blog posts like these almost right away!
Below is what we are currently working on, or are in the planning stages with.
Chapter 2 This is where most of our resources are currently being spent. As we've said since the start, both Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 will be quite a bit shorter than Chapter 1, but in exchange, they're a lot punchier on a minute-to-minute basis.
It introduces new weapons, new tools, new enemies, allied NPCs, hundreds of new voxel decorations, overhauls the 'weaker' gameplay systems, gives Chapter 1 a good facelift, and more. We'll need a good amount of time to cook this one up and will share an ETA when we have a release date.
Story Elements Currently being worked on. Originally aimed to launch in November, but we shifted focus toward the Special Campaign instead to amp up the replay value early on. We’re aiming to launch this in Q1 2025.
New Special Campaign features Enemy Traits, Battle Chests, and other randomization features are planned for the second half of 2025.
Engine Upgrade We’re actively working on upgrading to a new engine version that brings better performance, improved rendering features, improved compatibility with specific hardware combinations and more. While we initially aimed to release a test build in December, we couldn’t quite meet that deadline. We want to avoid giving an ETA for the time being, but we’ll keep you updated! It should not be much longer!
Making Safe Rooms More Interesting The Big Chapter 2 Update will upgrade every Safe Room in the game by adding new facilities.
Wave Survival Mode This mode is called 'Incursions,' and we started prototyping this 5 years ago. We will eventually pick this back up and finish it. It will be a while, however, as it also requires us to get a new dedicated level designer onboard to create deathmatch-style layouts. We'll plan this out after we've launched Chapter 2.
Swapping Weapon Kits During Gameplay Currently, you can only switch Weapon Kits in Safe Rooms. We plan to change this by allowing players to select two Weapon Kits in Safe Rooms and swap between them during gameplay, at the expense of a slight delay while switching. For example, you’ll be able to use both Nail Gun Turrets and the Shotgun Module without being limited to just one, but switching in combat will take a second or two.
Enemy AI A ton of stuff is planned over the course of Early Access, including a cover system for enemies, a reliable Last Known Position system, the ability for them to prone, a buddy system where individual squad mates can group up and stay close together, and more.
Reducing FOMO Elements One common piece of feedback is the frustration of missing out on Weapon Kits, which can feel like missing part of the intended experience given their significance. To address this, we’re introducing a system where missed Weapon Kits can be purchased in Safe Rooms using credits. While exploration is still the better approach since it doesn’t cost you any credits, this will give players an alternative method.
Some upgrades aren't worth the Weapon parts We are aware. Consider a few of the upgrades placeholders for the time being. With the game being unfinished, there are only a limited number of parameters to work with, but we aim to redo a few of these closer to v1.0.
As ever, while we are confident with all of this, plans and dates may be subject to change.
And... that’s it for the last blog post of 2024! If you have suggestions or concerns, feel free to share them in the comments, and I’ll respond as soon as I can.
It has been an exciting (and somewhat strange) year for us. Launching Selaco has been a dream come true and not something we ever considered possible 5 years ago. Seeing the game grow over time and slowly shape into what we have today is a very surreal experience, yet something I’d gladly do all over again.
On behalf of the team at Altered Orbit Studios, we wish you a very Happy New Year! Take care, and we’ll see you in 2025!
- Nexxtic
Selaco v0.86c Update - Full Patch Notes
Hey everyone,
As we actively work on the Story Update launching in February, we felt the need to address some issues in the current build of the game. As such, we’re releasing a quick update to improve stability and add a few new features. This update is now available!
The Winter Sale has begun, and we’ve put the game on another discount. Just like with our Autumn Sale, if you purchased the game earlier this week at full price, you should be able to get the difference refunded by contacting Steam Support. We're completely fine with you doing this.
Let's talk about some of the changes in this update!
v0.86c Patch Notes
Game Improvements
Added in-game credits upon entering Level 3-2.
Introduced new shotgun visual effects.
Minor health nerf for Enforcers.
Improved debugging information. This should make it easier to solve technical problems moving forward.
Special Campaign Improvements
Added a 'Compensate Item Pickups' setting.
Milestones are now available from the start.
Earthquakes no longer break car hitboxes.
Mammoth Turret is no longer affected by earthquakes.
Fixed an issue where enemies would spawn inside doorways.
Resolved a sloppy oversight preventing custom enemies from spawning. This ended up being more broken than anticipated. Apologies for that.
Fixed the Vampire Trait not providing health correctly.
Slug Generator now functions as intended.
Bug Fixes
Prevented soft locks in Level 3-2b. An upcoming update early next week will see further stability fixes here.
Pulling Metal Signs from walls no longer causes them to briefly clip through the wall behind them.
In-game menus (e.g., Weapon Upgrade menu) no longer stay on-screen after a player death.
Resolved accessibility issues where "Dim muzzle flashes" didn’t work as intended.
Weapon auto-switching is now forced when the player acquires a weapon while unarmed.
Fixed flames having an unintendedly large damage radius.
Adjusted the static crosshair to be non-additive, improving visibility in bright environments.
Corrected an issue where enemies wouldn’t react to taking damage.
Tasked Zynzu Entertainment with fixing numerous bugs in Burger Flipper. They happily obliged as long as they may launch a feature update for Chapter 2!
Fixed patrolling enemies lacking animations.
Resolved spark effects spawning at incorrect offsets on metal signs.
Fixed a progression issue with the Tychus Challenge not rewarding a Weapon Kit on repeat playthroughs.
Attempted fix for a rare issue where the Cloning Plant Elevator Panel would no longer respond to input.
Addressed multiple startup crashes -- please report any ongoing issues if you are still affected by this!
Resolved Rifle Start taking unintended credits upon level entry.
Dawn no longer takes damage when slide-kicking into dinner plates.
Printers no longer display as an 'X' sprite when destroyed by explosions.
Fixed a crash when punching Crawler Mines.
Resolved a soft lock in Exploration Mode.
Ensured "Selaco Must Fall" unlocks for players who completed the game in earlier builds.
Medical Posters now display proper tags instead of "MedicalPaper2" or "MedicalPaper3."
Fixed numerous typos throughout the game.
Public Beta Branch
We’ll perform another quick round of bug fixes before Christmas. If you believe something crucial is missing, let us know so we can address it. Perhaps in the comments below!
Remember, our Public Beta Branch is available to everyone. This branch includes new content and fixes long before the Live Branch, providing an opportunity for players who prefer a quicker feedback loop over stability. Be aware that these updates are largely untested, so stability isn’t guaranteed.
IndieDB's Indie of the Year Voting
We typically don’t ask for votes, but after learning we might stand a chance to win the First Person Shooter category, we’ve started taking it seriously. For small self-published teams like us, an award like this is a tremendous honor.
If you enjoy the game, please consider voting for Selaco or any other game you think deserves recognition. No account is required to vote, thankfully!
Thank you all for your continued support and for reporting issues. Your feedback makes a significant difference here!
We’ve aimed to be highly active during Selaco’s Early Access period, and we hope our numerous updates over the last six months properly reflect that. While Selaco is still far from finished, the progress we’ve made is staggering! Bigger updates are coming, including a gigantic Chapter 2 update in the far future, but for now, we look forward to hearing your thoughts on the upcoming story update; which is still planned to launch on February 2025.
Good luck out there, captains!
Selaco is nominated for IndieDB's Indie of the Year 2024 - We need your help!
Captains,
Hope you’ve all been doing well!
We’re thrilled to announce that Selaco has been nominated as a potential Indie of the Year over at IndieDB! This news caught us by complete surprise, as being on here is not something we ever anticipated.
Indie games have been delivering incredible experiences this year, as they always have. They’re a big part of why we’ll always remain passionate about this industry. Being able to share a spot with such titles is nothing short of an honor.
Becoming Indie of the Year is no easy task, especially given the popularity and quality of the other nominees. However, we may stand a chance for the First Person Shooter category. This is what we are aiming for!
To make it happen, we need your vote! If not for us, vote for another game you love. No account is needed in order to vote.
Or use this link to see the full list and vote from there
Quick update: We’re hard at work on the next big Game Update. This one places a heavy emphasis on world-building and story dialogue. We're very stoked about this one, hopefully you are too!
Yikes, we've accidentally prepared a gigantic update... Again. It took forever to put these Patch Notes together so get comfortable. No, really, it's long! Maybe prepare a nice cold Arachnocola and listen to the Selaco Trailer Mix to elevate the reading experience. We've added some Chapter 2 teases all the way at the bottom so it's worth the time!
First, let's celebrate a milestone: Selaco's Early Access release has already been six months ago, which is still quite hard to believe. Not only will we celebrate with a major patch, we are also putting the game on a 25% discount during the upcoming Autumn Sale, our biggest discount yet!
If you purchased the game within the past week, you might be eligible for a refund of the difference. Contact Valve, and feel free to share this post as confirmation that we’re on board with it.
Alright, onto the patch notes!
V0.86 Patch Notes
This patch once again adds and improves lots of different things. Here is a brief summary of what to expect before we go into more detail!
Added Special Campaign - A mix between New Game Plus and Randomizer Mode. Here are some of the highlights:
A fully customizable campaign experience
ARPG-style rarity system for both enemies and weapons
Weapon Trait system where weapons can have new effects and behaviors
Random Encounter system where new enemies can spawn into the level in real-time
New unique enemy variants of existing enemies
Randomization options including shuffled pickup locations, randomized weapon spawns, mystery boxes, and more
Added support for Steam Cloud and GeForce NOW
Added Nextfest Demo for those who want to experience what Selaco was like 2.5 years ago
Added new achievement
Reworked Headshots
Smart Tutorial Prompts
Added behavior for shooting enemies in the legs
Drastically improved Sound Design
Added option to customize individual Mutators
Added two new Mutators - 'Defensive Enemies' and 'Burger Flipper Tester'
Improvements to Game Balance
Improved numerous weapons
Improved gun sounds
Improved visual effects
Added two new upgrades
Added 'Custom Ammo' feature for the Shotgun
Level reworks for improved flow, navigation, and immersion
More stat tracking on your Wrist Codex
Gore improvements
Improved enemy behavior and added new abilities
Melee Improvements
Some art revisions
Reworked upgrades
Tons of bug fixes and optimization efforts
That's the summary. Now for the detailed notes!
Added Special Campaign (A fusion between New Game Plus and Randomizer Mode)
New Game Special allows players to replay the campaign but with unique Endgame Content and Randomization
Requires Chapter 1 to be completed
The following options are available in New Game Special:
Random Encounters
Add Random Encounters
Weaken Random Encounter Enemies
Random Spawns The following options have 6 settings: 'None', 'Less', 'Normal', 'More', 'Way More', and 'Ridiculous'
Spawn Additional Enemies
Spawn Additional Traps
Spawn Additional VAC-Bots
Spawn Additional Item Crates
Spawn Additional Hazards
Spawn Additional Ammo and Items
Spawn Additional Health and Armor
Spawn Additional Clutter Objects
Spawn Mystery Boxes
Spawn Allied NPCs (Locked until Chapter 2)
Additional Spawns
Allow Squad Leader Spawns
Allow Zombie Spawns
Allow Robot Spawns
(Exclusive) Allow Nailgunners
(Exclusive) Allow Stinger Soldiers
(Exclusive) Allow Burst Rifle Soldiers
(Exclusive) Allow Crawler Queen
Weapons
Weapon Spawn Style [Vanilla, Swapped, Full Random]
Allow Heavy Weapons (Locked until Chapter 2)
Events
Allow Zombie Invasions
Allow Crawler Mine Ambushes
Allow Saw Drone Ambushes
Tier-Based Spawns Adds Action-RPG Style Rarity Colors to both Enemies and Weapons. Higher rarity types are less frequent but are more powerful.
Enabled Tiered Weapons
Enable Tiered Enemies
Tiered Progression
Additional Settings
Randomize Food Items
Randomize Enemy Types
Randomize Enemy Locations
Randomize Pickup Amounts
Shuffle Item Pickup Locations
Start with all Tech Modules
Earthquakes
Skip Opening Scene
Cloud Gaming
Added support for GeForce NOW and Steam Cloud
Achievements
Added 'Embrace The Chaos' achievement
Nextfest Demo
The original Nextfest Demo can now be played by selecting `Nextfest 2022` as a Steam Beta.
Important: This demo is outdated. It will work on Steam Deck, but has not been Steam Deck verified. Please do not report any bugs regarding the demo.
Save Protection
Loading a Saved Game created by a Checkpoint will now give players two seconds of immunity against enemy attacks.
This is exclusively applied to Checkpoints. Quick Saves will not offer Save Protection.
Selaco aims for dynamic encounters where danger can occur in an unscripted fashion. While we always try to add checkpoints in safe locations, there is often no telling what the AI is up to. In order to avoid softlocks from bad checkpoints, we've decided to give a short period of spawn protection to allow players to evade if needed.
Smart Tutorial Prompts
Tutorial Prompts now only appear once. After starting a new Campaign, you will no longer get tutorials you've already seen before.
Added option to reset Tutorial Progress in Options -> Interface. Use this if you prefer to get all tutorials again.
Improved Headshots
Added unique visual and sound effects when hitting enemy soldiers.
Hitmarker tweaks to make headshots easier to read.
Headshots no longer cause enemies to enter their sideways Stumble animation.
Added 'Enable Headshot Sounds' setting in the Sound Menu.
Melee Attacks
The camera no longer sloppily snaps onto the target in a single frame. Instead, there is now a clean transition to make it more similar to the HALO series.
Increased Melee Lunge Distance and Lunge Speed.
Melee detection has been rewritten to be more reliable.
Frozen enemies
Frozen enemies take increased damage from all sources.
Added additional ice particles around frozen enemies.
Added 'frost smoke' effects around frozen enemies
Frozen enemies will now display an icon above their head to indicate that they are frozen. This is a temporary solution to make them easier to spot.
In the future, enemy sprites will instead be recolored to appear frozen. Due to one of our optimization efforts, the engine does not support Color Translations at this time.
Load Game Menu
Added 'Campaign Type' information to the Save Game Description. This will show whether the save is for a Standard Campaign or a Special Campaign.
Added Mutator List information to Save Game description.
Weapon Wheel
The Weapon Wheel now always shows 10 Weapon Slots regardless of whether the player owns the weapon.
SPECIAL CAMPAIGN: Weapon Wheel now shows Weapon Stats when selecting a weapon. DEV NOTE: A common critique was how weapons switched positions on the Weapon Wheel whenever a new weapon had been acquired, messing with the player's muscle memory. This change should solve that and make it faster to switch weapons from memory.
Leg Shots
Enemies now react to being shot in the leg.
Shooting an enemy in the leg while they are moving has a very high chance to cause them to stumble. This is a pain animation that lasts longer than other pain animations.
Leg Shots deal 25% less damage compared to bodyshots.
Enemies are now less likely to trigger a stumble animation from body shots, but it's still possible.
Accessibility
Added 'Reduced Explosion Volume' option
Sound Design
Continued trying to give Selaco the richest soundscape in an indie shooter, ever.
Aforementioned Headshot improvements
Improved door sounds
Went nuts on the audio design for bullet impacts and whizzes
All guns now have a unique dry fire sound effect
Added sound effect when loading a saved game
Added mechanical sound effect when shooting at Crawler Mines
Added new sound effects for bouncing pieces of debris and metal
Added additional delayed sound effects when walking over glass shards
Improved oomph for Fire Extinguisher explosions
Improved sound effect when walking over glass
Some props have increased sound variants when shot
Some weapons have their firing sound improved
...And so much more
Enemy callouts / AI
Enemies now call out your flashlight usage.
Enemies will now request status updates after losing sight of their target.
Enemies now respond to sound when unalerted
Interaction
Drawings can now be torn down with the Use key
The portrait in Dawn's HQ can now be downloaded to your datapad in a higher resolution
Brooms can now be pulled from walls with the Use key
Dinner Plates are now thrown like a frisbee, knocking enemies over when hit
Effects & Details
Added squeaky sound and effects when enemies stumble sideways
Improved particle effects when destroying glass objects
Some spark effects now shrink as they fade out
Added maggot particle effects that some of the later enemies can spawn when hit or gibbed
Maggots can crawl across the floor
Bullets and projectiles now pass through Kids Doodles
Ceiling Fans are now interpolated to appear smoother
Added cork voxel when destroying wine bottles
Added Perfume Sprayer voxel for destroyed Perfume Bottles
Reworked explosions further
Spark Effects have improved visuals
Other
Items spawned from Wooden Crates are more scattered and no longer face the crate
Items spawned from Wooden Crates are less slippery after hitting the floor
Improved effects when firing Heavy Metal container-type decorations
Pickupable prompts now fade out when holding an object for a couple of seconds
Tweaked one of our book cover illustrations to look less like some disrespectful doctor.
Mutator Menu
Reworked some UI elements on the Mutator Menu
Added support for configurable mutators. This will be further expanded upon in the future
New Mutator: Defensive Enemies
All Enemy Soldiers are more defensive than usual. They are more likely to keep their distance and surround the player, and less likely to push and be aggressive.
This makes Selaco slightly slower-paced while still maintaining a similar level of difficulty.
New Mutator: Burger Flipper Tester
Dawn starts the campaign with the Burger Flipper Test Build installed on her Wrist Computer
Locked by default. Unlocked by finding Burger Flipper in level 3-2
Hard-Boiled Mode
Added Customization Option: Decreased stagger chances on enemies is now optional (Default: ON)
Now requires completing Chapter 1 on Captain difficulty or above. Players who already unlocked it in an older version do not have to unlock it again.
Hardcore Mode
Added Customization Option: Hardcore Reloading has returned!
If you preferred the original approach where reloads would discard the remaining ammo of a magazine, it can now be enabled again. (Default: OFF)
Game Balance
Upgrading
Most Weapon Upgrades now require 50 Selver Credits on top of their respective Weapon Parts. Chapter 2 will introduce more credit sinks and may see this change reverted
Slidings
Increased Dodge Chance from 50% to 75%
Added sound and visual effects when evading bullets while sliding
Increased enemy knockback by slide kicks by 33%
Weapon Melee Attacks
Reduced melee knockback by 25%.
Shock Damage
Enemies hit by Chain Lightning have a much shorter Shock Duration. The initial enemy hit by Shock Damage remains the same as before
Enemies in a Shocked state now have their hitboxes updated. Before, projectiles had a tendency to pass through their head and not connect
Weapon Balance & Improvements
Roaring Cricket
Reworked Elephant Rounds upgrade
Damage increased 40 -> 50
Headshot Damage Increased (5% -> 110%)
Increased Recoil (2.5 -> 4.5)
Requires 500 Selver Credits on top of 350 Weapon Parts
Upon hitting the fire button, it takes 0.3 seconds until the shot is fired
Elephant Rounds can now kill most enemies with a single shot to the head, but it comes at a cost; This is a hard weapon to use now! The recoil has increased and due to the added delay, players will have to track their target for a brief period before an actual shot is fired.
Apply a Cranial Rounds upgrade on top and you can start eliminating higher tiers, like Enforcers, with a headshot too
ESG-24 Shotgun
Improved weapon sounds
Reworked Recall Upgrade: Killing an enemy at Point Blank range with a Shotgun will now disable Slide Cooldowns for 2.5 seconds, allowing for more slides.
Added chance to spawn a cosmetic bullet tracer effect
Re-rendered most of the sprite work to make them more appealing to look at.
New Weapon Kit: High-Velocity Slug - You can find this upgrade in Level 2-1
Shotguns now have full support for Special Ammo types. We will explore this further in Chapter 2!
UC-36 Assault Rifle
Added chance to spawn a cosmetic bullet tracer effect
24MM HW-Penetrator
Needed a bit more oomph to become more than just a mobile turret launcher
Reworked gun sounds
Increased Base Spread (395 -> 425)
Increased Stabilization Speed by (0.6 -> 1.0)
Increased Damage (32 -> 33)
ZOOMING: Spread has been greatly reduced when zooming (0.75x -> 0.4x)
ZOOMING: Fire Rate is now reduced when zooming, but nails traverse much faster.
SHOTGUN MODULE: Increased spread by 25% to encourage taking a bit more risk when utilizing its power
SHOTGUN MODULE: Added Knockback when firing, pushing you slightly backwards (firing while running backwards will speed you up)
New Upgrade: Twin Barrels - While firing from the hip, an additional nail is fired. However, Rate of Fire is slightly reduced and the second nail does not inherit any of the Penetrator upgrades
Grav-VI Plasma Rifle
Raised weapon sound volume
Added Area of Effect damage when gibbing Enemy Soldiers. Dawn is not affected by this damage
New Upgrade: Overblown - Plasma Bolt kills have 25% increased Damage and Area of Effect
Landmines
It felt like landmines were a bit too powerful, so we've decided to make a few tiny tweaks.
Explosion Radius upgrade has its radius reduced (110 -> 60)
Landmine Capacity reduced (3 -> 2). You can still get a capacity of 3 by finding a Grenade Bandolier
Levels
Navigation in numerous areas have been reworked, especially Water Treatment
Improved Courtyard encounter zone in Level 2-2
Added path nodes to Level 3-2 to allow for combat during a Special Campaign
A full resolution sample of the 'Dawn&Mom' portrait can now be downloaded to the Datapad
Statistics & Milestones
Added 'Legs shot' statistic
Added 'Target Dummies destroyed' statistic
Added 'Heads kicked' statistic
Added 'Walls humped' statistic
Added 'Weapon Kits Collected' statistic
Added 'Melee Hits' statistic
Added 'Slide Kick Hits' statistic
Added 'Enemies Shocked' statistic
Added 'Junction Boxes Destroyed' statistics
Added Jump Counter - Yes, you can now keep track of how often you jump.
Added Milestone for collecting Weapon Kits
Added Milestone for eliminating Snipers
Steam Deck
Added option to reduce FOV all the way to 60. Due to the smaller screen, higher FOV's ended up making the game harder to read
Numerous improvements to performance and stability
UI / Interface
Weapon Kit prompts now show a label informing the player what their current Alt Fire is
Added icons to the Settings menu
Added brand new menu where players can select their Campaign Style (Standard Campaign, Special Campaign. In the future this will also include Incursion Mode)
Fully redrawn Dawn's intermission illustrations
'Credits' and 'News & Updates' are no longer visible in the menu when playing a campaign
Extended Bullet Casings is no longer considered 'Experimental'. It has proven to be very stable and not impact the framerate as much as we had thought
Level and Chapter completion screens now have to icon to show the current game mode (Standard Campaign / Special Campaign)
Added support for UI shake in intermission screens
Fixed menu stuttering when switching graphical presets
Dinner plates
Improved destruction effects
Dinner Plates are now thrown faster and spin around like a frisbee, knocking over any enemy it hits.
Enemy Damage
Added new bone pieces that spawn when gibbing enemies
Added bounce effects for bone sprites
Added more Bone Pieces when killing enemy soldiers with Acid
Improved visual effects when shooting at Red Blooded enemies
Improved visual effects when shooting at Robotic enemies
Linux
Updated Linux Workshop Downloader binary
Source Code
To reduce the file size, the Source Files are no longer included in the Steam Download. Instead, there is a text file that takes you to the download page.
All Enemies
Improved patrol system.
When the enemy no longer sees the player at their last known position, enemies will now enter Patrol Mode
Enemies in Patrol Mode have a slightly reduced Field of View and wander around the encounter zone looking for the player
Chapter 2 will further improve upon this system.
Enemy Soldiers can now crouch
Enemy Soldiers can now throw grenades at Player Allies (Turrets, allied NPC's, Nail Turrets and more)
Juggernaut
Added Headshot Hitbox
Siegers
Added Nailgun Death animation for Siegers
Engineers
Now have more accurate shotgun reloading where they must insert the shells one by one (before they were inserted in pairs of two). Interrupting the reload after an engineer inserted two shots allows him to fire two shots.
Audio changes
Crawler Mine
Crawler Mines now flash a red dynamic light when they are about to explode
Squad Leaders
Increased Damage Reduction for enemies buffed by a Squad Leader (25% -> 35%)
Squad Leaders now prefer to fight from long range and will no longer rush to the player.
Plasma Troopers
No longer have Frag Grenades
Now have a Crawler Bomb. A grenade that spawns 2 mini-crawlers upon detonation.
New Enemy Type: Mini-Crawler Mines
Spawned by Crawler Bombs from Plasma Troopers
Mini-Crawler Mines are smaller and have less health
[Level 6 spoilers]
All Zombies
Increased hitbox height
Ranged Zombie
Color Corrected their attacks
Railgun Wallcrack in Starlight now has a correct hitbox, no longer requiring players to shoot slightly under it.
Improved Wall Detection for brooms
Fixed an error where Gwyn Machines could crash the game due to an out of bounds array reference
Fixed a large number of errors where Juggernauts would trigger animations they did not have
Fixed invisible screwdrivers
Fixed an inconsistency where the DMR Extended Magazine upgrade description mentioned '6' instead of '4'
Fixed Wall Paintings being far too slippery after being destroyed
Fixed a floating rain sprite in Level 3-2. Thank you for reporting this at least 5 times a day! <3
Fixed a bug where Red Blooded enemies would gib with purple fog
Fixed Plant Debris always showing an incorrect sprite
Fixed an error where enemies lost their headshot hitbox during their Taser animation
Fixed a rare crash when shocking Crawler Mines
Removed numerous debugs that were never meant to be shown in the console
Fixed a rare bug where enemies killed by electricity would instead become invincible
Chair feet no longer spawn smoke puffs when picked up
Fixed a rare bug where Burrowed Crawlermines would become invisible during a chase
Fixed a bug where picking up Weapon Parts at the same time as they were spawned would not despawn the gear decorations around it
Fixed Whiteboard hitbox not matching the height of the voxel
Fixed a crash caused by pressing START on Gamepad/Steam Deck before the game had time to properly initialize
Fixed an error where left-sided lists were partially unclickable when the Interface Setting was set to 'Small'
Enemy Speech Systems can now re-initialize when new voice lines are added, making older save files more stable.
(Steam Deck) fixed missing symbols in On Screen Keyboard
Fixed an error where Soldiers would consider a Pathnode as an enemy when failing to find a path
Corrected more Keyboard positions to no longer appear under desks. If you find any more, let us know!
Fixed a configuration error where the Steam download size was double in size of what it was meant to be
Opening the Weapon Station for the first time with a UC-36 equipped no longer plays the Zoom/Unzoom sound
Fixed Water Bottle collision box being much smaller than intended
Fixed an error where Paint Buckets crushed by a door became invincible
Fixed an error where there was a very brief 1-tick delay before Paint Buckets got destroyed
Fixed an error where Computer Monitor pieces had a spawn offset that was far too high
Fixed Level 1-3 having an impassable desk that blocked objects.
Fixed an error where picking up transparent voxels would be made fully opaque when dropped
Fixed an error where Yellow Reagent barrels would be invisible when far away
Fixed overlapping UI elements on Steam Deck
Fixed yet another instance of a Brick Duplication glitch
Walking over a large number of Paper Decals will no longer flood the audio channels with paper noises
Fixed bug in Level 2-1 where the Yellow Crate would not spawn Yellow Paint Cans - ruining our joke!
Fixed an error where ignition sounds would stack when an enemy kept getting burned
Attempted fix for Plant Factory Elevator Panels moving out of position (We have been unable to reproduce this, but did find a quirk in the code. Let us know if it happens again!)
Fixed a bug where two or more options at once would show up as selected in the Main Menu
Fixed a crash caused by Paper Dispensers trying to reference a Toilet Roll that no longer exists
Fixed a rare crash caused by walking on glass shards
Fixed oversight where Slide Jump hits would register as a regular melee hit, eliminating the Slide Kick benefits
Rephrased 'Bullets Evaded' to 'Shots Evaded'
Fixed an error where Slide Jump Attacks were considered "Weapon Melee Attacks" and not "Slide Attacks"
Development Status
Early Access development remains right on schedule, but changes have been made in the order of which we approach things.
We originally intended for New Game Plus-like modes to be explored somewhere between Chapter 2 and Chapter 3. But due to popular demand, we had to rethink this approach and decided to do it a little earlier. As such, development remains right on track but priorities have been shifted.
What has changed?
This new version was meant to be solely about the Randomizer Mode, but has now evolved into the aforementioned Special Campaign - something much bigger. As a result of this, the following has been changed:
Story Content has moved from December 2024 to January/February 2025
Special Campaign has been moved from Late 2025 / Early 2026 to Today - Although, in a beta state.
Chapter 2 development continues to progress rapidly
I'm aware many of you were eager for the Story Content, and I apologize for having to push that back a little. Rest assured, it'll be worth the wait!
While it's still early, there are a few things I can share about Chapter 2!
One of the levels takes place in a mansion
New defensive items, including a deployable Mini-Turret which comes with its own upgrade tree
Heavy Weapons. These weapons are extremely powerful, but cannot be stored in your inventory and are thrown away once depleted.
Enemy Miniguns can be picked up
Drop Pods that can result in unexpected encounters when venturing outside
Friendly NPC's
Here is a tease for one of the new tools you get to play with:
We often post development blogs on Patreon where we talk about ideas we are exploring, Chapter 2, scrapped content and more. Consider supporting us there!
https://www.patreon.com/PlaySelaco/
If you ran into any issues or simply prefer the old version, you can go back to an older version by rolling back using the Steam Beta features
Go to your Steam Library
Right Click on 'Selaco'
Click on 'Properties'
On the right side of the screen, press 'beta'
Click on the Dropdown Menu
Select 'v0.85'
Wait for the download to finish
You are now back to the old version of the game!
Phew, that’s quite the list, isn’t it? It took a lot of doing but it resulted in arguably our most significant patch yet. Which is saying a lot, given the scope of every patch we've launched so far!
While it’s unfortunate that the Story Content had to be pushed back by two months, we hope the early launch of the Special Campaign makes up for it. This mode offers endless potential for long-term expansion, which we’re excited to explore further in our Early Access period. We might even dedicate an entire update to Special Campaign additions further down the line.
Thank you all so much for continuously giving us your feedback, and a double thanks for everyone who participated in the Public Beta where we could test this update a little earlier.
Let us know what you think of the changes. Either in the comments below, or through a Steam Review. If the update fixed any of the issues you've had, consider giving your review an update!
Have fun, captains!
The Special Campaign Beta is NOW AVAILABLE – New Game Plus meets Randomizer!
The new Special Campaign mode is available in Beta for everyone who owns Selaco.
This is Selaco's answer to New Game Plus, albeit with a slightly different approach, hence the different name. Something akin to this has been frequently requested, and after playing around with the idea long enough, we figured we would do this now and not wait until v1.0 arrives.
This mode allows players to replay the campaign with unique endgame content and randomization, including new enemy types, a weapon rarity and trait system, random encounter mechanics, and more.
Our goal here is to make Selaco infinitely more replayable!
You can play the Beta Build right now! However, we highly recommend finishing a Standard Campaign first before playing this.
Once the beta has ended and Special Campaign becomes available in the Default build, this mode will have to be unlocked by beating the Early Access campaign.
You can enter the Beta by activating the Public Beta branch.
Right click 'Selaco' on the Library Page
Click 'Properties'
Click 'Betas'
On the dropdown menu, select 'publicbetabranch'
Wait for the Download to finish
While the Special Campaign is the meat and potatoes of this Beta, it also runs on a newer version of the game that is filled to the brim with improvements to the core gameplay. We will be launching a full changelog around November, as these changes are outside the scope of the Beta. For now, we are mainly interested in letting players experience the Special Game and getting your input!
Later during the Beta, we will be applying a major engine update that adds roughly 3 years' worth of engine progress. We expect that this will not only improve performance but also improve the general feel of the game. Technical changes invite technical problems, so please keep an eye out for anything unusual once this happens. We’ll let you know both here and in-game when this update has launched.
Clicking on 'New Campaign' will now open a brand new menu where you can select the type of campaign you want to play.
Click on Special Campaign if you want to help us test the new game mode. At the difficulty selection screen, make sure you click on Configure Randomizer if you want to tailor the experience to your liking. Keeping everything at 'Default' will result in the most balanced experience.
For this Beta test, we are interested in all kinds of feedback. The most important ones for us are bug reports and knowing whether or not you think the Special Campaign is fun and has potential.
Additionally, we are open to ideas and suggestions on how to improve it further, as we plan to support Special Campaign for the long haul.
Upon entering the Special Campaign menu, you are given the option to tweak parameters before beginning the campaign.
The following options are available in New Game Special:
Random Encounters
Spawns additional new enemies in real-time
Add Random Encounters
Weaken Random Encounter Enemies
Random Spawns
Spawns additional stuff while the level is being loaded. The follow options have 6 settings. 'None', 'Less', 'Normal', 'More', 'Way More' and 'Ridiculous'
Additional Enemies
Additional Traps
Additional VAC-Bots
Additional Item Crates
Additional Hazards
Additional Ammo and Items
Additional Health and Armor
Additional Clutter Objects
Spawn Mystery Boxes
Spawn Allied NPC's (Locked until Chapter 2)
Additional Spawns
Allow Squad Leader Spawns
Allow Zombie Spawns
Allow Robot Spawns
(Exclusive) Allow Nailgunners
(Exclusive) Allow Stinger Soldiers
(Exclusive) Allow Crawler Queen
Weapons
Weapon Spawn Style [Vanilla, Swapped, Full Random]
Allow Heavy Weapons (Locked until Chapter 2)
Events
Allow Zombie Invasions
Allow Crawler Mine Ambushes
Allow Saw Drone Ambushes
Tier-Based Spawns
Adds Action-RPG Style Rarity Colors to both Enemies and Weapons. Higher rarity types are less frequent but are more powerful.
Enabled Tiered Weapons
Enable Tiered Enemies
Tiered Progression
Additional Settings
Randomize Food Items
Randomize Enemy Types
Randomize Enemy Locations
Randomize Pickup Amounts
Shuffle Item Pickup Locations
Start with all Tech Modules
Earthquakes
Skip Opening Scene
Changed your mind during the campaign? Most of these settings can be tweaked during gameplay and will take effect when loading the next level.
Q: How long will the Beta Period be? A: The Beta lasts until we think it’s ready enough to be updated to the default client of the game. We are targeting the end of November, but if we aren’t satisfied with the enjoyment factor or the amount of bugs, we’ll briefly delay it to make tweaks. The Beta will stay available during this period.
Q: Why do I have to download this separately? A: Too risky to be forcing everyone into this new build for now. There's a solid chance everything will work fine, but when it involves a public rollout, we'd rather be safe than sorry. Until all planned features are ready to go and the Beta has proven to be stable, we’ll keep it separate.
Q: How feature-complete is it? A: The fundamentals are all here. Weapon traits exist, enemies can have rarities now, randomization is fully functional, and more. There are a few bugs we still want to iron out, and I want to experiment with improved randomization for weapon traits to make them more interesting.
Q: Once the Beta ends, does that mean Special Campaign is final? A: Far from it! Selaco is still in Early Access, so two whole chapters are missing. New chapters add new potential layers of randomization to the game that we can utilize with Special Campaign.
It will likely stay in Beta—albeit very polished—until we launch in v1.0!
Q: What is the updated engine about? A: Selaco runs on a modified version of GZDoom that started development roughly three years ago. Our version of the engine is made specifically for Selaco’s needs to improve performance and address some quirks. It’s one of the reasons why Selaco can have so many objects in a level without draining performance too much.
While we were working on this new engine, GZDoom continued development with updates we could never use due to compatibility with our own changes. We have started working on applying all the updates to our own engine, and it works but is rather unstable. We want to iron out some stability issues first before testing it publicly!
Q: Will the Special Campaign remain unlocked even if I haven't beaten the campaign? A: For Beta purposes, everyone gets access to the Special Campaign regardless of campaign completion. After the Beta ends, it will require players to beat the Early Access campaign before gaining access.
Once a new chapter launches, the Special Campaign becomes unavailable again until the new chapter is beaten. While that is a bit awkward, it's unfortunately a necessary evil during the Early Access period.
Q: It crashes when I load the Beta, help! A: It might be caused by the mods you are using. You might be using a mod that isn't yet compatible with this build. If that doesn't work, reach out to us so we can take a look!
We originally intended to call this 'Randomizer Mode,' but as we developed it, we realized that the feature set went far beyond the scope of just randomization. So instead, we started designing it as a different type of New Game Plus mode and made some additions.
We wanted to launch this in full today, but because of how much the scope has changed, we had to delay things.
However, we did not want to delay the feature entirely because we did promise to have something new in October. So rather than a delay, we instead settled with a Beta. That way, players still get to enjoy the new mode, and we get the opportunity to gain feedback and make things better. After all, that's what Early Access is for!
We hope you enjoy the Special Campaign. We strongly believe that this will have a positive effect on the lasting power and value of Selaco.
If you have any questions, I'll be available in the comments below.
