We’re seeing a lot of positive response to this week’s patch but word on the street is that Frank snuck a few little bugs into the mix to keep us on our toes. We’re back with a quick hotfix, which should help alleviate most of these issues.
Servers will be down on Friday February 3rd from 8 AM EST for up to four hours.
While we have your attention, we also want to reiterate that we’re aware many of you are highly anticipating the ability to select your method and format of play. While we cannot put an ETA on this immediately, know that Filtered Queues and Ranked play are both our highest priority.
In the meantime, we’ll be working on some behind the scenes magic to ensure that matchmaking in the current Quick Play platform is improved, giving a preference to Classic Solo play when queued alone.
Additionally, we hear that Frank is working on a very special crate fix that should bring balance to the .. inventory system.
But that’s for all for now. Until next time you crazy killers!
See you on the island!
Bug Fixes
<*>Resolved issues with Teams matches where one of the winning team members would not receive XP/Stats and would instead have an unresponsive menu as their reward.
<*>Fixed bug where Dig Deep perk would restore 35 HP instead of the intended 20.
<*>Fixed bug where weapon switching would not work properly when the player was weak/feeble.
<*>Removed non-functional Quick Play Filter UI, so as not to get your hopes up too soon. We are working to get this functionality to you as soon as we can.
<*>Fixed bug where Sixth Scents perk nearby player alert could be triggered by a teammate.
<*>Fixed text bug where Thick Skin perk description did not specify that it requires an equipped axe to be effective
<*>Fixed text bugs showing inaccurate damage numbers for Auto Bow and Rifle.
<*>Fixed an issue where players could still be knocked back (and potentially stun-locked) if struck while holding certain weapon types.
<*>Made a potential fix for some rendering crashes. These crashes are proving difficult to isolate but we are actively investigating.
UPDATE: The Perks of Being a Cull-i-flower #98XXX
Greetings Contestants!
We want to thank you once again for helping make the Big House update a big success. Just when you thought the exciting updates were over, we’re busting out a new round of changes that are sure to make you squeal in the way people do when they receive a Valentine’s card from their crush or have a stealthy blade slipped between their ribs.
Servers will be down on Wednesday February 1st from 8 AM EST for up to four hours.
First off, we have a fix for the Cull Crate reward bug many of you have been experiencing. This is great news for many and we’ve been working hard to make sure that things are in order. With that said, restoring missing crates is going to take more time and we will have a solution shortly. We will keep you posted.
Next, we’re debuting a big change that we’ve been hinting at for a long time: The Return of the Perks!
Many of your old favorites perks are back and we’ve thrown a couple of new ones into the mix for good measure. The caveat is that now you’re only allowed one perk per category, which should allow for better balancing overall.
But wait, there’s more!
We’re also debuting an important round of combat changes that address the key concerns we’ve heard from you about the latest iteration. More than any other update to the system, this has been a collaborative effort with you, the Cullmunity.
There are dozens of other important changes, but this wouldn’t be a brief intro if we covered them all. While some highly-anticipated features such as Ranked play and filtered matchmaking couldn’t make the cut this time around, know that they’re a priority moving forward and that the team is working tremendously hard to get them into a live state.
Also, please be aware that our patch schedule may slow down for a period of time as we make some important progress on the Xbox One Preview version of the game. This should be a temporary delay and will ensure that when we launch on Xbox One Game Preview Program The Culling is as polished as possible, across all platforms.
In the meantime, we’ll have some new and exciting news to share. But… we’ll save that for another post
Stay tuned and see you on the island!
Balance and Gameplay
Perks
<*>Updated perk list. Includes addition of 12 new and previously removed perks and some rebalancing. See perk list below for full details.
Players may now equip one perk per category (3 perks from 4 categories).
Dev comments: This gating system allows us to bring back several popular perks from the past. We are now able to balance perks within categories rather than against all the other perks in the list, which in turn prevents stacking of movement or defensive perks. We’ve also made some favorites weapon-specific, which we thinks promotes interesting weapon-specific builds.
<*>Reduced number of Kill Perks (awarded automatically for killing players) from 5 to 3.
Dev comments: The Kill Perks experiment has proven successful in terms of incentivizing aggressive play, but we felt that trimming from 5 to 3 retains the incentive and frees Leg Day and Dig Deep to rejoin the regular perk list.
Melee Combat Changes
<*>Players are micro-staggered if they strike a blocking player (unless the blocking player has Weakness/Feeble). Lasts 0.65 seconds, knocks player backwards, limits player movement, does not prevent blocking/attacking.
Dev comments: The primary goal of this feature is to ensure that the successful blocker is able to capitalize on the Weeakness/Feeble wound. Previously the weakened player could easily escape without taking damage. This has the added benefit of allowing skilled players to crowd-control their opponents, giving them a better chance in 1v2 situations.
<*>Added Feeble wound. Weakness progresses to Feeble if you strike a blocking player while Weakened. While Feeble, your attacks deal 10% damage and you are only capable of blocking 10% damage. Lasts for 2.5 seconds.
Dev comments: This addresses the problem where skill could not be used to overcome a significant hit point disadvantage. Previously, the player with the advantage could deal enough damage despite the weakness wound, meaning they could spam attacks indiscriminately and still win. This behavior now results in Feeble, which renders your offense and defense ineffective.
<*>Weakness now lasts for 2.5 seconds (previously 3 seconds)
Dev comments: The goal with Weakness and Feeble is to create a specific opportunity for the successful blocker to punish the blocked player. The goal is to allow the player time to close distance and land a fully charged attack without being jabbed back instantly when the wound clears.
Holding a fully charged melee for more than 1 second attack drains stamina at a rate of 5 stamina points per second
Dev comments: Now that charged attacks cannot be interrupted, we are finding stalemate situations with one player charging an attack and the opponent blocking. The attacker is at an advantage because they can almost guarantee fully charged damage when the opponent drops their block. This change puts the player who charges an attack for too long at a stamina disadvantage.
Airdrop Changes
<*>Early Airdrops now cost 12 FUNC (previously free)
<*>Early Airdrops no longer contain a stim
<*>Late Airdrops now cost 200 FUNC (previously 250)
<*>Utility Airdrops now cost 75 FUNC (previously 100)
<*>Added Early bow Airdrop, random chance to contain Autobow or Recurve Bow
<*>Added Mid Compound Bow Airdrop, contains a Compound Bow with full ammo
<*>Added Late Gun Airdrop, contains a random gun with full ammo, Tactical Body Armor, and a random stim
<*>Trapper Utility Airdrop contents updated: Backpack, Steel Snare, Steel Punji Sticks, Steel Caltrops, Explosive Mine
Dev comments: We have a few more changes planned that will impact Airdrops, but for now we want to make Late Airdrops more appealing and reintroduce some ranged options.
<*>Base crafting times reduced by 25%
Dev comments: Master Crafter was popular enough that we decided a global reduction in crafting times was warranted. The original goal was that crafting would make you vulnerable to attack, but we may have taken things a bit too far.
<*>All spawn points in classic mode prison map now have a nearby airdrop landing pad
<*>Teams now spawn at (relatively) equal distances in teams matches
<*>All bows now have max ammo of 18
<*>Chainsaw beast mode activated. Chainsaw now costs less stamina and imparts high-intensity versions of Cripple, Expose, Pierce, and Bleed wounds. Don’t get caught by the chainsaw.
<*>Rifle now deals 40 damage, has much slower rate of fire (from 25 damage)
<*>Poison Gas Grenade now expands instantly on impact
<*>Reduced number of hits required to mine rocks and sticks for most weapons, for a max of 4 hits and minimum of 2 hits
<*>Survival Axe now deals 9-23 damage with *** Expose wound
<*>Rebalanced XP awards
Dev comments: Our first stab at XP awards proved to be a little too generous, which is better than being too stingy, but worse than being just right. Hopefully this iteration will feel just right.
Bug Fixes and Polish <*>Fixed some bugs that we believe were responsible for the bulk of the stability issues (read: crashes) users experienced with the Big House update
<*>Fixed bug that prevented some users from receiving Cull Crates when leveling up
<*>Players cannot exit the booth backdoor in Lightning Rounds (to prevent players missing their airdrop pad)
<*>Suicide button now works properly in custom matches
<*>Fixed bug that allowed .357 Magnum to have extremely high rate of fire
<*>All spawn points now have guaranteed rocks and sticks for crafting
<*>Fixed bug where XP would not appear correctly on match summary screen
<*>Cleaned up start of match sequence to hide UI and in-game elements until loading is complete
<*>Fixed several hit reaction animations that were still moving and potentially stun-locking players
<*>Reduced the amount of camera movement imparted by attack animations and hit reaction animations.
<*>Visual changes to make Lightning Rounds more distinct and to help players obtain their airdrops
<*>Fixed visual issue with wrist on female Formal Top clothing
<*>Fixed bug that made Stealthy Stim ineffective
<*>Added Red Crates to prison map
<*>Fixed text bug that described Crafted Spear pierce intensity of *** (it is actually *)
<*>Roll-up doors in prison now have SFX
<*>Dirt road texture no longer has a stone with a faint blue outline that tricked players into thinking they might be able to pick it up
<*>Prison architecture now properly blocks explosions and interactions
<*>Fixed issue where Loot Express arrived a minute early (now takes 2 minutes and matches announcement)
<*>Polish pass on in-game menus
<*>Polish pass on front-end menus
<*>Concrete surfaces can now be mined for rocks in prison map
<*>Fixed Belgian flag Culling Card. Sorry Belgium!
<*>Fixed several clothing clipping issues
<*>More Holo Spawners added to prison map
<*>Better visual and audio communication for Weakness/Feeble wounds
<*>Fixed bug where some weapons did not display crosshairs when equipped
<*>Fixed HUD description of damage values for Yari and Sabre
<*>Stun Gun and Pepper Spray now recycle for 10 FUNC regardless of ammo
<*>Weapon and item skins now appear in items spawned from lockers and green/red crates
<*>Fix for rocks and sticks spawning underneath roads
<*> of collision fixes in prison map
<*>Renamed Rekt-Em-Juice back to Orange Juice. Let us never speak of it again.
Perk List <*>Combat: Basher: -15% melee charge time with all Bludgeons
<*>Combat: Brutus: +50% backstab damage with any Blade
<*>Combat: Golden Arm: +25% velocity, +100% damage for thrown spears (+50% for crafted) Maximum effect at 20 meters.
<*>Combat: Mangler: 80% of melee damage dealt with Axes is also applied to opponent's stamina
<*>Combat: Ranger: +10% damage with all ranged weapons
<*>Combat: Trapper: -75% time to place and disarm traps. Snares apply a 30% expose wound.
<*>Movement: Leg Day: +5% movement speed
<*>Movement: Recovery: +30% faster stamina regeneration
<*>Movement: Speedy Spear: +7% movement speed while holding any Spear
<*>Movement: Stealthy Blade: Your movement is nearly silent while holding any Blade
<*>Survival: Angry Octopus: When reduced below 20 Health automatically drop a Smoke Bomb (Once per match)
<*>Survival: Bomb Suit: Reduce all damage from firearms and explosives by 30% while holding any Bludgeon
<*>Survival: Blood Guzzler: If someone is bleeding within 15 meters of you, you gain 1 health per 3 seconds.
<*>Survival: Cannibal: Killing an opponent restores 15 health and full stamina
<*>Survival: Dig Deep: Recover 20 Health when you drop to 1 HP. Happens once per match.
<*>Survival: Immunity: Immune to bonus damage from backstabs and headshots
<*>Survival: Inhuman: You can not be tracked with Man Tracker and are immune to Alarm Gun
<*>Survival: Regenerator: Recover 1 health point every 4 seconds
<*>Survival: Sixth Scents: Become alerted when a player is within 20 meters. 30 second cooldown
<*>Survival: Thick Skin: Reduce all damage from bows, blowguns and thrown weapons by 30% while holding an axe
<*>Survival: Tough Mother: Reduce all incoming damage by 5%
<*>Utility: Bow Flexer: +25% arrow velocity with all Bows and -25% charge time
<*>Utility: Backpacker: Start the match with a Backpack in your inventory
<*>Utility: Chemist: Stim effects last 50% longer
<*>Utility: Load Dropper: Airdrops arrive much faster
<*>Utility: Man Tracker: Start the match with a Man Tracker in your inventory
<*>Utility: Master Crafter: -25% crafting time
<*>Utility: Moneybags: Gain +2 bonus FUNC each time FUNC is gathered
<*>Kill Perk: Big Boned: +10 health pool
<*>Kill Perk: Big Lungs: +20 stamina pool
<*>Kill Perk: Ol Painless: +10% general damage
Hotfix #98189
Greetings Contestants!
First off - thank you for your tremendous feedback. As we launched our biggest update yet, The Big House, you came to our side and offered your support. Boasting nearly double the content found in the game’s Alpha, The Big House was a yuge undertaking and we’re glad to hear that so many of you have enjoyed the fruits of these many months of loving labor.
With an update of this magnitude there were bound to be challenges, as we discovered when you descended upon our servers in droves. We’ve put together a hotfix that addresses some of the most pressing issues and we’re compiling a list of tweaks and fixes for our next patch.
Thank you once again and see you on the island!
Balance and Gameplay
<*>Players can no longer stagger with shove while they are under the effects of weakness
Dev comments: Players discovered an exploit that allowed them to immediately execute a shove after being blocked, which allowed them to turn the tables on a player who had effectively blocked them.
Bug Fixes
<*>Fixed issues related to the UI becoming unresponsive after the match ended (usually after spectating)
<*>Fixed an issue with matchmaking that placed teams into solo matches.
Matchmaking returned to default from Teams-only.
<*>Fixed an issue with matchmaking that resulted in longer than expected wait times even with sufficient players in queue
<*>Fixed an issue that prevented Linux/SteamOS client from publishing properly
<*>Fixed an issue where where match results screen would display negative XP
<*>Fixed an issue where your killer’s Culling Card would not display on the Hunted screen in Lightning Rounds
<*>Fixed an issue where the invert mouse axis setting was not working
The Big House
Greetings Contestants!
It’s here! it’s finally here! The day we’ve all been waiting for has arrived and we’re happy to announce The Big House, The Culling’s biggest update yet.
We invite you to our brand new map: Cul County Correctional, where you can duke it out in on the yard or in the cells of our prison playground. But what’s a playground without a few new toys? We’ve included new weapons, game modes and match events to keep your blood lust satisfied and your cold murderous heart content.
Servers will be down on Wednesday January 18th from 8 AM EST for up to four hours. Note that while this is our estimate, an update of this size may require some extra love. We’ll be sure to update you of any potential delays in delivery.
Since The Culling made its debut onto Steam Early access, you, the cullmunity, have shown us plenty of love. This isn’t lost on us and The Big House is our way of showing it back. Consider it a love letter. A letter of love. Basically we’re flirting with you. No, we will not send nudes.
Ahem..
Although we’ve addressed many known issues, this build is not an exit from Early Access. Instead, it represents our transition from Alpha to Beta. This is an exciting milestone that ushers in a new era of The Culling. At the same time, it doesn’t mean we’re quite out of the woods, or the tropical island - see what we did there? - just yet. There’s still plenty of bug fixing, optimizing, and polishing to do.
Still, we’re proud to bring you many of the features that you’ve been asking for, and we’re excited to bring even more in the future.
Speaking of the future… we’re also happy to announce that we’ll be bringing The Culling to Xbox One Game Preview Program in the first half of 2017! We told you there was more!
And we will have even MORE (ahhhhhh) to share in the near future, but until then, we’ll see you on the isl.. Wait that’s not right...
See you in the cell block.
New Features
Quick Play Feature <*>Contestants all queue together and get a random chance at all modes and maps. Pre-made teams are guaranteed to be placed in teams matches.
Improved Matchmaking
Reworked Tutorials
New Map: Cul County Correctional
New Match Events: <*>Shake & Bake: The sun is gonna get hot! Hide inside or you will take damage!
<*>Gold Rush: A free Golden Crowbar will spawn in a central holo-spawner. It opens a golden crate that spawns in the middle. The crate contains a Chainsaw which, has been retuned for maximum fear and loathing.
<*>Drop Your Bridges: Want to call in your airdrop for free? Head to the bridge pads before other players get there. But be careful, hitting the bridge voids their warranty!
New Modes: The Culling now features 8 ways to play: <*>Classic Battle Royale (16-player free-for-all) on The Island
<*>Classic at Cul County Correctional
<*>Classic Teams on The Island
<*>Classic Teams at Cul County Correctional
<*>Lightning Round (8-player free-for-all) on The Island
<*>Lightning Round at Cul County Correctional
<*>Lightning Round Teams on The Island
<*>Lightning Round Teams at Cul County Correctional
<*>Private matches are available in Classic Battle Royale on The Island and at Cul County Correctional
<*>Lightning Rounds have been reworked with new airdrops and rules
New Economy <*>Culling Crates: As you level-up you will earn crates. Open them for cool prizes!
<*>Currency System: Didn’t get something you want? Many items can be purchased directly by using currency earned through opening crates.
New Loot <*>Weapon Skins: Customize the look of any airdrop/holo-spawner weapon you call in. Players will envy you as you stab them to death. If they kill you and steal your pretty weapon you have nobody to blame but yourself!
<*>Culling Cards: Unlockable banners to show your dead opponents your personal flair. Be warned: some include potty humor.
<*>Taunts: Get in your enemy’s head with the new taunts. Just don’t let them kill you while you show off your moves.
<*>Victory Celebrations: Won a match? All eyes are on you as you dance on the victory podium.
<*>Tons of new clothes, hair styles and hats
<*>Over 1,500 unlockable items in total!
Progression System <*>Player XP: As you play matches you earn experience. The better you play the more you earn.
<*>Player Leveling: When you get enough experience you gain a new level. Every level earns a new crate for some phat lewt! There is no limit to how many levels you can earn. Try to reach infinity!
<*>Player stat tracking (Kills, Wins, Play Time, etc.)
Blocking a melee attack imparts a weakness wound on the attacker. The wound lasts for 3 seconds, reduces damage dealt by 50% and reduces block effectiveness by 50%. Players who have the weakness wound cannot apply it to others.
<*>Dev comments: This solution finds a nice middle ground between pre-December 2016 combat and the “no-stagger” patch. We’ve retained the smooth, fast-paced feel of the December patch, but raised the skill ceiling to encourage competitive play amongst veteran players.
Performance Optimizations: We have updated to a newer version of our game engine and optimized many aspects of the game. Our min-spec machines are able to run the game at higher graphics settings with improved frame rate and high-end machines are showing major improvements as well.
Players are no longer able to disable shadows
<*>Dev comments: Trapping is an important aspect of The Culling and the option to disable shadows gave an unfair gameplay advantage, not to mention making the game look unappealing. We have worked hard to ensure that our min spec machines can still offer solid playable performance with shadows enabled. We have also improved the look of the “low” shadows setting.
Strictly Cosmetic - Changes Coming to Steam Inventory
Attention Contestants!
With the upcoming major update comes some major changes. As of January 10th, The Culling will no longer utilize Steam’s inventory service to track your cosmetic item inventory. Instead, your inventory will be stored on our back-end servers.
Along with the new system, some design changes are happening. Moving forward, The Culling will no longer support duplicate items, nor will it support trading or selling your items to other players.
This decision was made so that we can utilize the same system across platforms. This change will help us prepare to launch The Culling into the Xbox Game Preview Program for Xbox One, a tentpole that the team is working hard to reach in 2017.
When you first run The Culling after the major update, your Steam inventory of Culling items will be taken through a conversion process, which will do the following:
<*>Give you an equivalent item under the new system*
<*>Evaluate your full list of cosmetic items and Trials Tokens as an indicator of how much time you played the Alpha version of the game
<*>Grant you some number of limited-edition clothing and flair items along with additional rewards based on the list of items in your inventory
<*>Remove all Culling Steam items from your Steam Inventory
In order to facilitate the conversion process, we will be disabling trading and marketing of steam items tomorrow, January 10th at 8AM EST.
Sincerely,
Frank
*Be aware that in a small number of cases cosmetic items have been removed from the game and no longer have an equivalent item under the updated system. Don’t worry though, I’ve hacked nearly double the amount of items into the game and discontinued items will still count toward your inventory list when determining your other awards.
Slay Bells Ring - Patch #96869
The aroma of sour eggnog and dried blood hangs heavy in the brisk winter air as the team puts the finishing touches on the major update. But, what fun are the holidays without a little cheer? So, before that happens, we thought we’d let you open one last present before the New Year!
The new patch will be released on Tuesday, December 20th. Servers will be down starting at 8AM Eastern for *up to* 4 hours.
This patch revolves around some seemingly small changes to melee combat that we expect will have a big impact. In an effort to make combat more enjoyable and less punishing, we’ve removed the stagger that previously happened when you struck a blocking player, and we’ve made it impossible for another player to cancel your charged attacks.
We like the feel and pace this new aggressive twist brings to the combat system and we’re eager to hear your thoughts.
For more in-depth explanation, you can read our recent blog post.
See you on the island!
Balance and Gameplay
Melee Combat Changes
<*>Charged melee attacks are no longer canceled by taking melee damage
<*>Blocking a melee attack no longer staggers the attacker
Dev comments: For a full description of our melee combat changes and the reasoning behind them, please check out this blog post.
<*>Late-Match Airdrops are available three minutes earlier. They can be called after 9 minutes have elapsed (16:00 remaining). Previously available at 12 minutes elapsed (13:00 remaining)
Dev comments: We’re working to find the right balance of cost and match time availability for Late-Match Airdrops. These contain the most powerful weapons in the game, so we want to hold them back long enough to give value to the lower tiers, but we also want them to be attainable enough to represent a viable strategy. Keep the feedback coming!
Dev comments: We realized consistency for headshot damage is probably a good idea, so we’ve made the headshot bonus for bows match the bonus for firearms.
<*>Blocking now prevents wounds applied by thrown weapons
Dev comments: Throwing was not originally intended to be a guaranteed way to apply a wound, so we’ve closed this loophole. Note that hits which bypass the block from the sides or back will still apply the wound, even if the player is blocking.
<*>Chemist Perk now increases duration of stims by 50%
Dev comments: We like round numbers and Chemist was feeling a little tepid, so this is a golden opportunity for everybody to feel good about a change.
<*>Bait Crate is now treated as Early-Match Airdrop (instead of a Utility Airdrop), allowing it to be called once per match without FUNC cost
Dev comments: We like the Bait Crate, but with recent changes to the economy, the 100 FUNC price tag was steep. By making it free to call once, it becomes a guaranteed option to try to hoodwink an opponent and put them at a significant disadvantage.
Bug Fixes
<*>Fix for Brutus Perk applying more bonus damage than was intended
Dev comments: Brutus was applying a larger bonus than it should have, this has been fixed.
The Big Picture: Christmas, Combat and The Culling 2016
It’s hard to believe that almost one year ago we decided to go the route of Early Access for The Culling. After working on the project for a little over six months we realized we had something that could be very special on our hands. Our 16-developer studio had a 16-player game that we playtested several times a day, quickly making it our favorite competitive title.
We realized that our 16 individual opinions about aggressive, player-versus-player combat were simply not going to be enough. Despite our collective years of experience, it was clear that we needed to include more viewpoints if we were going to make any changes with confidence. Hence the decision to release in Early Access - a choice that would afford us not only the freedom to experiment, but the opportunity to refine.
Since that initial release of The Culling, we have always worked hard to make it a more fun, engaging and meaningful experience. Sometimes we got things right, sometimes we got them wrong. There is no doubt this game is in a much better state than it was nearly one year ago, thanks in large part to the feedback from the community, confirming that Early Access was definitely the smart decision.
This January we will reach a milestone in our development. It’s a giant step toward what we would call our “1.0 Release” of The Culling, a goal that we’ve been striving towards for quite some time.
As we approach that exciting group of features and additions, we wanted to take one more hard look at our melee combat experience - something which has been hotly debated topic since people started playing the game. In looking back, we see one glaring truth that stands-out:
Players spend too much time “disabled.” It’s as simple as that.
The fact that a basic attack can easily lead to a hard stun is so utterly disruptive that it is simply not fun. Not for new players, not for skilled players, not for anyone. According to our data, the average melee fight in The Culling lasts about 30 seconds. We estimate that players spend about one-third of that time completely stunned. We need to reduce the number of those disruptive moments to improve the overall experience.
So this leads us to two significant changes for our last update of 2016. Although the changes themselves are small, we think they will have a big impact on combat in a positive way.
First, we are removing the hard stagger associated with attacking a Block. Blocking a melee attack will still stop all damage, but it will no longer stun or disable the opposing player.
The second change is that players can no longer interrupt the charged Power Attacks of other players. When an opponent charges a melee attack, your only recourse is to block, leading to more exciting moment-to-moment confrontations.
All other aspects of combat remain the same. In our early tests in the studio we found these two changes to be incredibly positive to the overall experience, even at this preliminary stage.
Now, we want to put it in your hands to see what you think.
We just ask one thing: If these changes concern you, play before you judge. Bring your constructive criticism to us with some time spent playing with the new changes. It will make that feedback much more effective.
With this patch we wish you all Happy Holidays. Expect to hear more about it soon.
We look forward to seeing you during the break as players and after the break as we work to finish-up our exciting new features we will bring you in January.
Signed,
Xaviant CEO
Michael McMain
Cul Country Correctional
Attention Contestant:
You have received a life sentence and are set to report to Cul Country Correctional.
See you on the island!
PERKY TURKEY SNOWBALL FIGHT #96202
Greetings Contestants!
There’s a cold wind blowing on the island, and the inhabitants are ready to get their kill-streaks on. There’s so much to be thankful for: Big bones, big lungs, ol’ painless, leg days, even deep digs.
What’s that? You didn’t hear that some old favorites are making a comeback with a twist? Well quit gobbling that buttery corn cob and read on!
[b[The new patch will be released on Tuesday, November 22nd. Servers will be down starting at 10AM Eastern for up to 4 hours.
This time out we’re focusing on a couple of key aspects of the game: Aggressive vs. Passive play and melee combat mechanics.
Aggressive play (which is inherently risky) is not adequately incentivized and leaves the victor vulnerable to vulturing, while passive play (which is dull to spectate and can lead to crowded end-of-match scenarios) presents no major risks or downsides. While we do not intend to eliminate passive play, we do want it to be a risky choice, so we’ve implemented the following changes:
<*>Kill Perks. As you achieve kills in a match, you unlock a series of perks that improve your combat effectiveness for the rest of the match. While we expect combat skill will remain the primary determining factor in most fights, these Kill Perks will give the edge to an aggressive player.
<*>Economy Changes. FUNC rewards for kills have been increased and FUNC gained from recycling has been decreased. Late-Match Airdrop costs have increased. This means expensive equipment will be more difficult to obtain for passive players.
<*>Vulture Reduction. Default health-on-kill has been increased and the radius of combat audio has been decreased. This makes vulturing more difficult and mitigates one of the major risk factors in taking on a fight.
It is worth noting that the Kill Perks system is an experimental prototype and is likely to see changes in the future. If this system proves popular, it offers an avenue for more of the game’s classic perks to return in a controlled fashion.
On the Melee Combat front, while the last iteration of timing changes (read: slower shove) was successful in its goal of making shoving somewhat risky, it came at the expense of a sluggish feel and jab-back. We want the game’s controls to feel sharp and responsive, and we generally want combat decisions to straddle a fine line between predictive (I expect my opponent to attack, so I’m going to block) and reactive (I can see my opponent is shoving, so I’m going to attack).
In order to make combat actions feel quick and responsive, we’ve reduced the time required to shove significantly and made some tweaks to blocking and attacking. All three of these actions are now identical in terms of timing. We have offset the speed of shoving by giving it a period of vulnerability. If a shoving player takes damage, he will experience a “mini-stagger,” which leaves him vulnerable to an additional jab.
With these changes, we are one big step closer to putting the finishing touches on the game’s foundation in preparation for the major update. We hope to have news for you on that front soon!
EXTRA BONUS SECTION (COURTESY OF CULLMUNITY ORGANIZER ATRIUM_DEV)
The biggest tournament ever for The Culling happened this weekend with over 125 of the best Culling all-stars battling it out for over $5,500 in prizes. Backstabs, grenades and BM galore gave us two new champions to add to the Cullmination banners!
First off, congratulations to the TWO-TIME champion kvason95 with the patient decisive win over former two time champion PumpgunLouis and front-runner FaKe. kvason95 breathless and exhausted vowed to use the prize money to help out his mother and he’s not sure what to do with the rest quite yet. Watch the finals moments here.
Secondly, a HUUUUUUUUUUGEEE congratulations to TheOneXplicitz for his aggressive, bloodthirsty, and frankly terrifying win in the NA Finals. Xplicitz conquered some high level foes (with some added BM) and took out Bombie^ to be your NA Champion. The finish in the blood bowl Cullmunation can be watched here.
For all your Cullmunation discussion, highlights and results you can subscribe the survive the culling subreddit and read these threads.
And remember to join the Discord to hang out with the champions, Culling developers and other contestants!
We’ll see you on the island!
Features
NEW: Kill Perks are now awarded to players when they achieve kills in a match:
<*>1st Kill: +10 health pool
<*>2nd Kill: +10 stamina pool
<*>3rd Kill: +10% damage
<*>4th Kill: +5% sprint speed
<*>5th Kill: Dig Deep (restores 15 health when taking fatal damage)
Balance and Gameplay
Melee Combat Mechanics
<*>If a player takes damage while shoving, he is subject to a “mini-stagger” which is shorter in duration than a full stagger, but still grants the opponent an opportunity to attack
<*>Reduced Shove animation duration
<*>Tweaked timings of Shove, Jab, and Block to be consistent with each other
Economy
<*>Increased FUNC Kill Reward to 60 (from 40)
<*>Base recycle value of 10 for all manufactured items
<*>Rocks and Sticks can no longer be recycled
<*>Late Game Airdrop cost to 250 FUNC (from 200 FUNC)
<*>Sledgehammer text and damage set to 10-30
Dev comments: Sledgehammer was previously dealing 9-27 damage, but the UI text was incorrect.
<*>Reduce combat value of fists, rocks, sticks: 5-10 damage (from 5-15)
Dev comments: This is intended to add combat value to Tier 1 and Crafted melee weapons.
<*>Duration of full blindness from blindness wound reduced to 2 seconds (from 3 seconds)
Dev comments: We’ve seen the effectiveness of a multi-smoke bomb strategy and want to take a bit of the sting out of being blind.
Increased base health award on kill from 15 to 30. Note: There is a known issue where this does not work properly in offline matches.
Reduced the distance from which combat actions can be heard
Bug Fixes and Polish
<*>Fixed missing fireworks for Grab My Package
<*>Reduced duration of Airdrop notification VO
Dev comments: A better long-term solution is in the works, but for now we’ve made these announcements less obtrusive. <*>Trump and Hillary masks retired. See you in 2020!
Cullection Day: Frank 4 President! #95826
The U.S. presidential election is nearly upon us and just when you thought the last political shots had been fired, The Culling has a final trick up its sleeve that could decide the outcome of the race. That’s right: Trump and Hillary masks are making their way to the island (sorry, Gary Johnson).
In the final hours before Super Tuesday, Culling contestants will show their support by dressing up as their favorite candidates. Hop on a private server (hosted in Frank’s garage), build a wall around your Airdrop landing pad, and leak the blood of your enemies. Step aside, Washington Post, The Culling is ready to flex its influence and rock the vote!
The new patch will be released on Monday, November 7th. Servers will be down starting at 8AM Eastern for *up to* 4 hours.
In addition to goofy rubber masks, this patch has A LOT going for it. For months we’ve been systematically targeting various core game systems and overhauling them to be more balanced, more competitive, more fun and more... “more”.
This time we have Airdrops, Economy, and Match Events in our crosshairs.
You can read the details below, but the short version is that we now have Early-, Mid-, and Late-Match Airdrops that only become available at specific time intervals (provided you have enough FUNC). Coupled with a stingier economy, we expect Airdrop choice to be more interesting strategically and more critical to the outcome of matches.
Perhaps the most exciting thing about this round of changes is that for us it represents a critical milestone on our Early Access roadmap. At this point we’ve addressed all of the game systems that required overhauls, which frees up more of the team to focus on the Major Update that’s still in the works. There will be more patches before the update, but they are likely to involve fine-tuning, rather than huge shifts. This is the stimulus package we’ve been looking for.
In a tip of Frank’s fedora to the Cullmunity, we’ve made a few timing tweaks to Blocking and Shove, we’ve added Cullmunity tournament-winner banners to the Cullmination, and we’ve made it easier to view the scoreboard when you’re spectating.
We’ll see you on the island!
#Frank4Pres
EXTRA BONUS SECTION:
Hot on the heels of their Culloween event, the Cullmunity is gearing up for their biggest tournament yet to close out the year.
The Cullclusion (http://theculling.com/blog/2016/11/3/cullclusion-pre-qualifier-event).
More guests, more prizes, and the biggest purse to-date; it doesn’t get much better than this.
Proceeds from entry fees for the tournament are being delivered to the Texas Homeless Network, helping those in need during this holiday season. That’s literally a win-win when you put your money where your mouth is!
You sign up and get more details on the Cullclusion here. (https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-cullclusion-2016-tickets-27792364711)
But what if you want to put your fist where your mouth is? Well you’re in luck friend, there’s an option for that.
Each weekend leading up to The Cullclusion on November 18-20th we will be running Pre-Qualifiers to help contestants book their very own free ticket to the tournament!
Windows will be open starting on 12pm EST and closes 6pm EST ( Nov 5/6, 12/13). During this time period, a contestant merely needs to meet the following minimum requirements to be entered in the running.
Minimum Requirements:
Play at least 10 matches during the time period
Win at least 1 game
Get a minimum of 3 kills in a single game
If you haven’t registered for the free Pre-Qualifiers, what are you waiting for? Click here ! (https://www.eventbrite.com/e/pre-qualifier-for-the-cullclusion-event-tickets-28860449381)
Cosmetics
<*>New Trump and Hillary masks are available to everyone for a limited time!
Halloween masks have been retired
Balance and Gameplay
Airdrops and Economy
<*>New Suite of Airdrops
Early (Tier 2 Melee weapon + Crude Crafted Armor + Random Stim) (FREE)
<*>Random Blade
<*>Random Bludgeon
<*>Random Axe
<*>Random Spear
Bait Crate
<*>Explodes and deals 50 damage when opened
Airdrops now have an elapsed match time requirement in addition to a FUNC requirement.
-Early, Utility: Match Start
-Mid: 6 minutes elapsed (19:00 remaining)
-Late: 12 minutes elapsed (13:00 remaining)
<*>With the exception of Utility Airdrops, Airdrops can be called once per match
<*>Airdrops now spawn directly over the landing pad and take 45 seconds to arrive
<*>Airdrop landing pads no longer spawn randomly, there are a fixed number of pads and locations
<*>Default loadouts utilize Early Airdrops and Load Dropper
<*>Improved item orientation in Airdrop crates
<*>Load Dropper perk reduces Airdrop call-in time from 45 seconds to 15 seconds (previously provided instant delivery)
Removed several activity- and time-based FUNC Rewards
<*>Time Alive (1, 2, and 3, these were providing a total of 100 FUNC)
<*>Crouch through trap
<*>Distance Traveled (1 and 2)
<*>Stim Use
<*>Opening various crates
Dev comments: This overhaul of Airdrops and Economy is intended to accomplish several goals:
Airdrop contents are balanced, allowing players to choose based on weapon preference. While the previous “themed” Airdrop approach was fun (and may see a return in some form), it meant that certain weapons were favored based on the quality of the companion items.
The introduction of a time-gate mechanism allows us to control the pace of weapon progression, which in turn increases the relative value of each tier of melee weapon. Tier 2 and Tier 3 melee weapons each enjoy a 6-minute window where they are (nearly) guaranteed to be the strongest weapons in play. When coupled with a more restrictive economy, we expect the choice of an Early-, Mid-, or Late-Game Airdrop will be much more interesting from a strategic risk/reward standpoint.
With Early-Match Airdrops available for free at the very start of the match, inexperienced players have a clear path to gearing up that doesn’t require intimate map knowledge (for effective scavenging) or understanding of the crafting system. We’ve all seen new players enter fights empty-handed, which isn’t particularly fun for anyone. We expect some aggressive veterans will also favor Early-Match Airdrops and rely on Holo Spawners and body-looting to provide Late-Match gear.
By removing the majority of activity-based FUNC bonuses, including the controversial “charity FUNC,” passive players will have a much more difficult time accessing Holo Spawners or Late-Match Airdrops, creating a strong incentive for aggressive play.
While still valuable, Load Dropper is no longer a must-have perk for a player who wants to guarantee an Airdrop. All Airdrops will alert other players to your location and can potentially be contested, but they can no longer be stolen in transit. While some of the gameplay associated with snagging an Airdrop as it traveled across the map was exciting, having all Airdrops spawn directly above their landing pad creates a host of new gameplay dynamics.
Melee Combat
<*>Blocking: Reduce minimum block duration by 0.1 second (from 0.5 seconds), making total minimum block time 0.7 seconds (matches jab time)
<*>Shove: Extend shove time by 0.1 seconds, making total shove time 1.1 seconds
<*>Shove Animation: Shove animations should better illustrate the timing of shove, with an explosive pop at 0.1s, and a long follow-through where the shoving player is visibly vulnerable.
Dev comments: The community has spoken! Several of you have voiced concerns about the slow feel and added vulnerability of blocking since our last changes, so we’ve reduced the minimum block time by 0.1 seconds. Coincidentally, this makes Jab and Block timing match exactly, which must be fate. We’ve made Shoving more of a risk by extending the duration by 0.1s and reworking the Shove animation to do a better job of visually communicating how vulnerable a player is after a miss.
End of Match Map Changes
<*>End of match gas iris behavior updated. With ~7 minutes remaining, the gas iris pauses for 5 minutes. With 2 minutes remaining “Standing Room Only” begins and stops with 0 minutes remaining.
<*>With ~7 minutes remaining, “End of Match” Gas Pylons appear near in 4 key locations near the central arena. When triggered these pylons shut down large portions of the playable space, driving players toward the center.
Dev comments: We’ve been struggling to find a solution to the phenomenon we consistently see in high-stakes matches (i.e. tournaments): Lots of players alive at the Standing Room Only phase, resulting in a messy brawl with questionable “who can survive longest in the gas?” tactics.
When a tournament is on the line, it is difficult to incentivize aggressive play, but punitive action against passive players didn’t seem appropriate. Through changes to gas shutdown timing and placement of strategic gas pylons that only appear near the end of the match, we have created a scenario where we expect much higher attrition during the late game phase (from 7 minutes remaining until 2 minutes remaining), with only a few players remaining as the match winds down to Standing Room Only. Note that “End of Match” Gas Pylons behave identically to all other Gas Pylons in terms of radius, duration, and damage.
Level Changes <*>Community Tournament Winner Banners Added
Dev comments: We are proud to display banners commemorating the winners of notable Cullmunity-organized tournaments.
<*>Fireworks at Grab My Package destinations
Dev comments: This helps draw players to the location where Grab My Package will land, making it more contestable.
<*>Match Events now occur in 3 phases
-Early (@ 4:00 elapsed)
The Chokening
Loot Express (Can deliver Mid and Utility Airdrops)
-Mid (@ 10:00 elapsed)
The Chokening
Grab My Package (Can deliver Mid, Late, and Utility Airdrops)
-Late (@ 18:00 elapsed)
Loot Pinata (Can deliver Mid, Late, and Utility Airdrops)
Three-Crate Monte (Can deliver Mid, Late, and Utility Airdrops)
(Note: Two events happen per match, always at different match phases)
Dev comments: We have new events planned for the upcoming major update, but in the meantime we’re embracing the Early-Mid-Late scheme of Airdrops and reformatting our Match Events to create a more cohesively paced experience that still offers the prospect of early access to a higher-tier Airdrop.
Spectator Mode Features
<*>At match end, spectators automatically view the scoreboard
<*>Holding Tab key allows spectators to view the scoreboard (mappable key)
Advanced Tutorial Changes
<*>Room 1 Mandroid has an on-screen damage display
<*>Auto Bow and all stims are now included on pedestals
<*>Recycler is available
Dev comments: These changes make our internal QA testing easier and will allow the community to test and confirm their own theories.
<*>Holo Spawners no longer contain Hemo Blast Stims, have a higher chance to contain ranged weapons
<*>.357 Magnum, SMG, and Rifle have had minor accuracy tweaks
