- (bugfix) Fix most options submenus not getting opened
- (bugfix) More accurately display damage for The Best defence skill
Stories from the Outbreak
Patch notes 1.1.2
1.1.1 Patch notes
- (bugfix) Status effect tutorial could not be closed if it got opened at the start of combat
- (bugfix) Conversation choice, and ability upgrade buttons were partially blocked when clicking with mouse
- (bugfix) Game UI becoming mostly unusable if the help menu was opened during a turn which also activates focus buff selection
Stories from the Outbreak 1.1.0 Update - new content added!
Almost half a year after the launch, we are happy to present you 1.1 content update, coupled with Nintendo Switch release. The game is also Steam Deck verified now and should run smoothly on your Steam Decks.
We've added one new boss fight on the second map and some new trinkets that we wanted to see in the final version of the game.
You can check out the Nintendo Switch version here.
Thank you for playing our games!
The Coldwild games team
Full changelog:
* 1 new boss fight (alternate fight for the second map)
* 1 new enemy
* 7 new trinkets
* 4 new challenge modes
* Clearer communication for when to expect particularly difficult encounters against human enemies
* Improved gamepad controls
- Swap the default controller button mapping for inspecting timeline and inspecting ability (if you have previously modified the button layout, need to reset it for the new layout to apply)
- More button hints
- Additional onboarding
- Option for alternate input mode which reduces need to keep buttons held for a long time and pressing multiple buttons at the same time
* Improve text size for small screens
* Add tooltips for Unphased timeline icon and map side panel
* Codex navigation by clicking on keywords
* Reduce sound volume for Elegant strikes focus buff
* Soldier visual improvements
* (bugfix) Fix flicker at the start of run
* (bugfix) Remove codex entries for inaccessible testing content (3 enemies and 1 status effect)
* (bugfix) Prevent trinket tooltips from stuck when a popup window gets opened
* (bugfix) Missing death animation when Beāte uses massacre ability
* (bugfix) Vintage locket wasn't activating
* (bugfix) Soldiers were throwing more grenades than intended
* (bugfix) Fighting the mutant mother didn't unlock the 4th ability
* (bugfix) Periodic autosave didn't activate unless you have spent 6 continous minutes on the map screen at least once (the bug didn't affect autosave when exiting)
Balancing:
* Healing from spending 3 map nodes in "Idle" role 8 -> 15
* Salt shaker kill requirement 6 -> 5
* Soldier Grenade base cooldown 27 -> 32
* Fixed an incorrect cooldown in the final boss battle
* Katerina: Sea of blood bleed amount 3 -> 4
* Inese: Distraction base cooldown 25 -> 35
* Viktorija: Base PWR 3 -> 2
* Viktorija: Base AGI 5 -> 6
* Viktorija: The best defense base damage 3 * STR -> 4 * STR
* Viktorija: Combat expertise base cooldown 45 -> 41
* Viktorija: Unscathed base cooldown 35 -> 33
* Viktorija: Death denied base cooldown 55 -> 46
* Maksim: Sight-line base cooldown 35 -> 25
* Maksim: Sight-line focus gain 2 -> 1
* Maksim: Hone base cooldown 40 -> 35
* Maksim: Bloodbath base cooldown 30 -> 25
* Sprīdītis: Mutagenesis base cooldown 35 -> 27
* Beāte: Adrenaline damage scaling for each Vulnerable stack 2 -> 3
1.0.4 Patch notes
- (bugfix) Make the forbidden corners achievement unlockable. Previously the trigger for it activated wrong achievement.
- (bugfix) Fix enemy codex entries not getting unclocked.
- Add some additional tooltips to party window.
- (bugfix) Fix tooltip drawing order in the help menu.
1.0.2 Patch notes
- (bugfix) Fix game freezing after finishing challenge level 6
- (bugfix) Killing an enemy using Designate ability caused the damage reduction to remain active
- (bugfix) Fix tooltip in "Move onwards" ability description
- (bugfix) Allow gamepad scrolling in options menu
1.0.1 bugfix update
- (bugfix) Fix a bug causing run to end early, after loading a save with tutorial scenario.
- (bugfix) It was possible to open team information window while, walking on map, thus causing UI to break.
- (bugfix) If the the 4th ability was upgraded before unlocking 5th ability, there was a chance of getting base version of it from combat rewards resulting duplicate ability.
- (bugfix) Reduce the chance of death animation not playing when using repeated attacks.
1.0 update - Stories from the Outbreak is fully released!
Stories from the Outbreak 1.0 has been released, marking its full release after almost a year in Early Access.
This update brings massive improvements to the game’s narrative systems – conversations have been reworked, events now have long-lasting consequences, other humans can be fought, all writing has been improved and the total written content has been doubled. This is, of course, accompanied by various gameplay improvements, fixes, new art, and more – the full changelog has been appended to this announcement.
We’ll be monitoring player feedback and releasing patches with bug fixes and other small improvements, but we’re also planning at least one more content update in the future, plus console releases, and, potentially, modding support. You can read about our plans more in the previous instalment of Dev Notes.
If you want to support our studio and the game’s continued development, please consider leaving a Steam review! Each review really helps us.
Thank you for this adventure – we’re looking forward to our next stories together,
The Coldwild games team
Full changelog:
* Human enemies (arriving in 3 flavours)
* 41 new events, as well as additions and improvements to existing events
* 5 new trinkets
* Conversations and emotions have now been entirely reworked
* STR and SKL have been combined into a single stat: PWR
* Added an in-game encyclopedia containing information on enemies, trinkets, characters and more
* Stat checks now have an accompanying animation
* Steam achievements
* Remaining backstories and epilogues (Anna, Dmitry, Inese, and Katerina)
* Many new backgrounds and event images
* Improvements to most written content in the game, including backstories, story fragments, conversations, and more
* Further improvements to the game's ending
* Many status effect icons have been recolored or otherwise changed
* Various visual improvements and polish
* (bugfix) In certain situations combat encounter pool could be emptied resulting in combat that has no enemies
* (bugfix) Fix incorrect damage estimate indicator after using regular attack on an enemy which is already targeted by delayed attack
* (bugfix) Fix autosave happening less frequently than intentended
Balancing:
* Enemies have generally been buffed to balance various new advantages to the player (more details below)
* Stat prices now scale twice as fast, but the scaling is now unique for each stat
* Training now also gives inspiration points upon completion
* Lowered training duration by 1 (doesn't affect maximum or minimum training time)
* Training progress is now updated after completing a node instead of entering it
* Eating fully at a safehouse now heals 50% instead of 40%
* Starving at a safehouse now damages 40% instead of 20%, but is no longer lethal
* Particularly difficult enemy encounters can now be found in some events in the third map (e.g. The Wager)
* Prevented poison-heavy or protection-heavy enemy encounters from appearing in first map's hard nodes
* Immunity no longer lowered by friendly damage, and now only affects damage from enemies
* Renew can no longer be applied to inanimate objects (barricades in the Necklace of teeth challenge)
* Toxic reprisal posion amount 3 -> 2
* Elegant strikes damage bonus PWR -> 6
* Interruption - speedup next ability by 20, insted of making it instant
* Antidote poison removal 4 -> 5
* Seize hope heal amount 3 -> 4
* Debilitate tick amount 10 -> 8
* Dare PWR gain 2 -> 3
* Condemn max amount 30 -> 20
* Traffic cone delay amount 10 -> 7
* Bottle opener rarity Common -> Uncommon
* Rare coin rarity Rare -> Uncommon
* Zombie's heart challenge now decreases poison at a slower rate
Enemies:
* Swarming infected PWR 4 -> 5
* Swarming infected Virulent bite base cooldown 50 -> 45
* Warden Shield base cooldown 30 -> 25
* Warden Forceful slam base cooldown 33 -> 30
* Bloated PWR 3 -> 4
* Bloated Delay the inevitable base cooldown 20 -> 25
* King Demolition focus gain 1 -> 2
* King Battering ram focus gain 1 -> 2
* Frenetic Wild shred base damage PWR-2 -> PWR-1
* Frenetic Lacerate flesh focus gain 0 -> 1
* Aberrant Ichor spit base cooldown 40 -> 35
* Anomaly Mystify base cooldown 35 -> 30
* Parasite PWR 4 -> 3
* Parasite Latch on base cooldown 30 -> 33
* Ghoul Reap focus gain 1 -> 2
* Mutantmother initial Fumes amount 3 -> 2
* Mutantmother Spread spores base cooldown 35 -> 40
* Mutantmother Invite delay amount 25 -> 15
* Legion Out for blood base damage PWR -> 2*PWR
* Final boss aggressive strategy abilities now happen in a different order
* Worthless Worship protection amount 30 -> 20
* Worthless Worship now removes 4 bleed and 1 poison
Anna:
* Base TGH 6 -> 5
Jānis:
* Base INT 5 -> 4
* Recover base cooldown 18 -> 20
* Recuperate base cooldown 23 -> 25
* Safeguard base cooldown 20 -> 22
* Wild shout protection amount 7 -> 6
Katerina:
* Headshot base cooldown 20 -> 23
* Mind blown base cooldown 20 -> 23
* Precision shot base coolldown 25 -> 28
Dmitry:
* Deranged bashes base cooldown 45 -> 40
* Take cover, Recollect, and Look after are now half as strong
* Take cover base cooldown 50 -> 30
* Take cover focus cost 3 -> 2
* Recollect base cooldown 50 -> 35
* Recollect focus cost 4 -> 2
* Look after base cooldown 40 -> 25
* Look after focus cost 3 -> 2
Dzintars:
* Base TGH 4 -> 5
* Base AGI 3 -> 4
* Exsanguinate friendly bleed removal 1 -> 2
Inese:
* Advantageous timing and its upgrades base cooldown 25 -> 22
* Battlefield manoeuvres health loss if Inese is preparing an ability 15 -> 20
* Decapitation and its upgrades base cooldown 70 -> 80
* Overwhelm bleed amount 2 -> 3
Zigmārs:
* Base AGI 6 -> 5
* Base INT 7 -> 8
* Base AMR 3 -> 2
* Prolegomenon and its upgrades base cooldown 20 -> 23
Viktorija:
* Base AGI 6 -> 5
* Base PWR 4 -> 3
* The best defence base cooldown 20 -> 16
Maksim:
* Base PWR 3 -> 2
* Base INT 7 -> 6
* Base AMR 5 -> 4
* Designated now increases outgoing damage by 75%
* Hone base cooldown 55 -> 40
* Hone amount 2 -> 1
Samanta:
* Base AGI 6 -> 4
* Momentum and its upgrades base cooldown 25 -> 27
* Push onwards and its upgrades base cooldown 25 -> 30
* All out protection amount 45 -> 40
* All out exhaustion amount 13 -> 12
Sprīdītis:
* Base TGH 7 -> 8
* Esprit de corps base cooldown 25 -> 35
* Overloading neurons base cooldown 55 -> 50
* Fighter's impulse base cooldown 40 -> 35
* Providence base cooldown 25 -> 20
Elīza:
* Base INT 4 -> 5
* Strike back amount 20 -> 25
Beāte:
* Base INT 7 -> 5
* Butcher and its upgrades now give half as much vulnerable
Development notes #6 (release trailer)
Alex here with exciting news! The game now has a trailer and a release date.
Yep, we’re launching the game on the 20th of February. The 1.0 update doubles the amount of written content in the game, adds human enemies, improves the conversation/emotion system, features heavy rebalancing, and adds more backgrounds, trinkets, polish, and Steam achievements. We hope you enjoy it – this has taken a lot of effort to prepare!
Now, exiting Early Access means we’re satisfied with the game, but it doesn’t necessarily mean our work on it is finished. There were plenty of things that we planned to add or started working on, but that didn’t make the cut. We’re hoping to update the game with another boss fight (Legion alternative) and another playable character (fourth tank), and we also have plans to add modding support to the game. Separate console releases are also to be expected in the future.
All of this, however, is up in the air and partially dependent on the game’s financial future. With enough support for the game, we’d definitely love to update it even more – but we’re making no promises currently.
We’ll also monitor Steam discussions and our Discord server for bug reports and other suggestions.
Thank you for sticking with us through this journey! Community feedback has been essential for the game’s development throughout Early Access – including its role in balancing, as well as fixing various suboptimal systems, from character selection to the conversation system – and we hope experiencing the game’s evolution has been as exciting for you as it has been for us. See you on the other side!
May your Stories be… from the Outbreak?
Alex and the rest of the Coldwild Games team
Development notes #5
Alex here with another update on our development progress in these past few months.
First and foremost, brace for a price increase. This is because the game’s scope is growing past our initial expectations and we feel it’s fair to reflect that in the price. This won’t affect anyone who already owns the game, but, if you have friends who want to try this game - now’s a great time to get it for cheap!
As for the next update, we’ve decided it’s about time for Stories from the Outbreak to leave the waters of Early Access and sail into a full release! The game’s release will be accompanied with one final large update, arriving in about 2 months.
The focus of this update will be narrative. We’re already quite satisfied with how the combat is flowing (though expect some minor tweaks and improvements), but narrative has stayed in the relative background during development. Now, we’re nearly doubling the amount of written content in the game - tens and tens of new events, backstories for each character, reworked conversations (say goodbye to those pesky debuffs from emotions), and more.
A bulk of this is work on the game’s events. The event pool is reaching a size that feels appropriate for a roguelike, but we’ve also evolved our approach to events. Instead of the events being disconnected random situations for the player to deal with, much more emphasis is put on connected micro-narratives.
The player’s decisions will often have long-term consequences. Do you wish to ally yourself with the Unity for Peace, or do you think you can survive being their enemy? Do you make enemies with fellow survivors, or do you always try to act morally at the cost of your own survival? The game will allow each playthrough to explore a different narrative unfolding in the Outbreak-ridden streets of Rīga and Saldus.
Of course, a huge part of such a narrative is the alliances and grudges you build with other survivors. Nothing prevents you from being actively hostile towards the people you meet in the Outbreak, but antagonising other scavengers can lead to violent outcomes…
Human enemies act differently from mindless zombies. Their actions are unpredictable, intelligent, quick and devastating. Don’t let their small health pools fool you - battles with fellow survivors will be some of the messiest encounters you find in the Outbreak.
Of course, the final update will also bring some other new content, fixes, Steam achievements, and, as always, a couple of gorgeous backgrounds from our artists.
We’ll post another instalment of dev notes when the update is closer. Who knows what other additions we’ll sneak in during these next couple of months. Stay tuned and let us know if there’s anything you’d like to see in the final update!
May your poison stacks be manageable,
Alex and the rest of the Coldwild Games team
Stories from the Outbreak - Update 0.10.1
Best,
The Coldwild Games team.
Changelog:
* Poison does not reduce self damage
* Swap the default button mapping for View status effects and Inspect ability
* Include Rat skull in damage estimates
* (bugfix) Sprīdītis Infinite chaos stat loss can no longer mistakenly remove 2 stats
* (bugfix) Do not apply focus damage boost on Beāte's Butcher ability twice
* (bugfix) Fix Butcher preview when hovering timeline
* (bugfix) Hide the target selection rectangle after choosing ability target without mouse
Balancing:
* Swarming infected Virulent bite base cooldown 40 -> 50
* Bouncer base STR 7 -> 6
* Warden base STR 9 -> 8
* Ghoul Reap base damage 3*STR -> 2*STR
* Worthless Worship protection amount 10 -> 30
* Inese Execution delay 90 -> 70
* Zigmārs Trinity base cooldown 25 -> 33
* Zigmārs Trinity SKL gain 1 -> 2
* Viktorija base STR 5 -> 4
* Viktorija base AGI 5 -> 6
* Viktorija The best defence base damage 2*STR -> 3*STR
* Viktorija Laugh it off, Brush aside and Move onwards duration 45 -> 50
* Beāte's Adrenaline now applies vulnerable to self AFTER doing the initial damage calculation
* Beāte's Move back effect has been changed, primarily to combat cheese strategies