The Highrise
v3.6.5.7.1 Last Update
This is Studio Hatch.
After this update, there will be a transition to the official version without any change in pricing.
We extend our sincere gratitude to everyone who has supported our game once again.
(For the sudden transition to the official version, please refer to the previous patch announcement for the reasons ːsteamsadː)
[Monsters]
• A new monster, "Scratcher," that crawls inside the ventilation ducts, has been added.
• "Scratcher" is a monster with low health but deadly attacks, so now you'll need to be thoroughly prepared before using the ventilation ducts.
[New Options]
• General brightness adjustment and flashlight brightness adjustment options have been added.
• Options to toggle some guidance UI on and off have been included.
[Bug Fixes]
• Fixed a bug where, upon entering the darkroom, highlights of certain objects were visible, making it easy to locate the objects.
[UI]
• VSync on the Unity game engine does not seem to work properly unless the max frame rate is set to 'unlimited.' We have added a small message next to the option, advising users to set it accordingly before use.
Tell Us About Your Server Connectivity Experience
We've just released an update featuring a new server!
This server is dedicated to Chinese gamers, and we'd like to apologize for any previous connectivity issues.
We'd appreciate your feedback on your gaming experience on this new server.
Have the connection problems improved, or are you still experiencing issues?
Please share your thoughts with us.
v3.6.5.7.0 Update
This is Studio Hatch.
We are pleased to announce a new update.
Here are the highlights of this update:
1. You can now use the "Asia" server option. This option is for those who have experienced connection issues while playing multiplayer on the Asia server. After selecting the option in the settings, you can use a new server for multiplayer connections.
2. The maximum number of players for both Sandbox and Survival modes in multiplayer has been increased from 3 to 4.
3. Key binding has been added. (Please note that some controller support available in the previous in-game version no longer works.)
4. The "Merchant" system has been added.
5. Seven new attributes that can be obtained by collecting notes have been added.
6. You can now block paths and build "Walls" for defense. However, you need blueprints to create them. (The blueprint is located where the "Metal Door Hanger Barricade" used to be.)
7. All characters are now available from the beginning, and the challenges are now working correctly.
[Merchant]
• There are two merchants in the entire area, and you can trade various materials and information for "credit points."
• (When buying information, it will tell you the floor and a rough location of the target.)
• You can deduce the location of the first merchant from a note placed at the starting tent, and the "Gev's Letter," which used to be in the same location, has been moved elsewhere.
• Credit points can only be obtained by selling food.
• The traded information is shared across all saved data.
[New Attributes]
• Satisfying Satiation
• Falling Technique
• Tough World
• Environmental Adaptation
• King of Destruction
• Exciting Hope
• Masterful Luggage Carrying
And finally, we would like to share some unfortunate news from our team...
In South Korea, with the exception of special cases, all adult males are required to serve a certain period in the military. I have reached an age where I can no longer delay this service, and I will be enlisting in early December.
Regrettably, this means that while The Highrise is on track for an official release, I will no longer be able to work on updates after that.
Despite the shortcomings of our game, many of you have shown it love and support, and I cannot thank you enough. It pains me that I cannot provide a more significant return for your support.
After my military service, I will continue to work to develop better games and provide more fun and excitement.
To everyone who has shown interest in our game, I deeply thank you, and I hope you have a healthy and happy end to 2023 and a great 2024 and 2025.
[Other]
• The name of the "Chef" is being changed to a name that better suits the monster's characteristics, "Thresher."
• Trampoline controls have been slightly changed. Now, when you press the jump key without holding it down, you'll perform a low jump upon trampoline landing, and when you hold it down, you'll perform a high jump.
• The brightness of the Flame Barrel is slightly reduced.
• The remaining cultivation period of crops is now displayed again.
[Bug Fixes]
• We have fixed a bug where in custom mode, disabling the monster respawn option didn't work when rejoining the game. (We apologize that we didn't update this with a hotfix.)
• We have fixed a bug where the maximum frame rate limit was slightly off by one step.
• We fixed the bug where structures were not being damaged by monsters.
Early Access v3.6.5.6.6: Custom Mode Addition
We have some long-awaited update news to share with you.
First, the major update includes the addition of a custom mode.
In custom mode, when creating a new character, you can customize various options, such as the maximum number of players in multiplayer (up to 8), the amount of food and ingredients that appear, monster quantity and damage, and more.
Furthermore, in multiplayer mode, players can join rooms using custom mode without being restricted by the mode, and all saved data is accessible.
Additionally, we have made various bug fixes and improvements for a better gaming experience.
Firstly, we fixed a bug where monster appearances for optimization in multiplayer mode were intermittently out of sync.
Also, before entering a room that you have played in at least once, guest save information will now be displayed.
**We have added a FoV (Field of View) option, but there is a bug where it rarely sets the FoV value to the lowest when entering with a character that has been played before. In this case, please go to the "Settings" option and adjust the FoV value to your desired setting for the screen to return to normal.
[Custom Mode]
The options provided in custom mode include:
• Option to delete related save information upon death.
• Maximum multiplayer players option.
• Food quantity.
• Ingredient quantity.
• Broken plate quantity.
• Creaking door count.
• Generator operation time.
• Mini-game difficulty.
• Stench increase amount.
• Natural reduction rate of stamina, hydration, and flashlight battery.
• Display remaining resource period option.
• Regular save mode option.
• Number of monsters.
• Monster respawn option.
• Monster respawn period option.
• Large monster respawn option.
• Monster damage.
• Monster detection speed.
[Miscellaneous]
• We have modified the initial graphic options that are set when the game is first launched to provide a more comfortable gaming experience.
• Added FoV option.
• Added an option to adjust the cycle at which sunlight generates shadows.
• Increased the number of slots available for saving from the previous 6 to 18.
[Bug Fixes]
• Fixed a bug where even after unlocking a character through Steam achievements, you couldn't play with that character in the next game.
• Fixed a bug where the workbench disappeared if it was present in the inventory when making another installation immediately after creating an item on the workbench.
• Fixed a bug that severely lowered the frame rate when entering a dark room and improved the visual interaction in it to smoothly connect with the flashlight.
Hotfix v3.6.5.6.5
• When the chef is not in combat, an action has been added to move away from the flames if engulfed.
• The weight of pistols, shotguns, and rifles has been adjusted.
• The activation rate of water during world generation has increased by 5% in all modes.
• In Survival mode, a slightly increased amount of food is added during the first world generation.
• The position of the oil drum in Hotel A has been adjusted.
• An additional oil drum has been added to Hotel B.
• Visual effects in dark rooms have been modified, allowing the use of a flashlight to see ahead.
• Visual interaction for each option in the settings menu has been fixed.
• Oil can now be refilled in the generator of the outer elevator.
• Improved placement detection for pipe bombs.
• Item outlines and UI in the inventory no longer overlap.
• Monsters moving through glass or walls now appear more natural.
• Fixed a bug where monsters occasionally bypassed barricade collision in certain situations.
• Fixed a bug where the control panel outside the elevator did not synchronize properly with the elevator information upon game restart.
• Fixed a bug where the elevator malfunctioned after running out of oil and reloading a saved game in this situation (now, if the elevator is mid-floor with no oil or the generator not activated, it moves towards the closer side).
• Fixed a bug where, on game restart, clicking to equip an item in the inventory while already having an item equipped prevented proper equipping.
• Fixed a bug where gun smoke and muzzle flash remained after firing and interacting with other objects.
• Fixed a bug where item information briefly remained in the previous slot when moving an item to a new slot.
• Modified crafting list design in the inventory to improve visual interaction.
• Fixed a bug where in the inventory, the crafting window showed a list of items that could only be seen on the workbench when not using it.
• Fixed a bug where newly crafted items briefly appeared in the center when disassembling items in the inventory.
Hotfix v3.6.5.6.4 (+Demo Update)
• Water activation rate during initial world generation has been increased from 50% to 60% (applies to both Sandbox and Survival modes).
• Monster respawn time in Survival mode has been reduced from 14 days to 7 days (remains 14 days in Sandbox mode).
• Weight stage 2 penalty limit has been increased from 60Kg to 80Kg.
• Accumulation rate of odor has been reduced from 33.3 per day to 25 per day.
• Weight limit has been increased from 40Kg to 50Kg.
• Memory usage of the game has been further reduced compared to the previous patch.
• Fixed the bug where blood effects when hitting monsters or other players were not displaying correctly.
• Fixed the bug where visual effects of Pipe Bomb explosions were not showing properly.
• Fixed the bug where installed Pipe Bombs couldn't be defused properly.
• Fixed the bug where striped Chef's health was not applying correctly.
• Fixed the bug where entering a room while playing in Sandbox mode allowed the creation of new characters only in Survival mode instead of Sandbox mode.
Lastly, after the gameplay renewal in The Highrise, numerous changes have been implemented, and the current demo has been updated to match the same version as the full Highrise game. Due to significant version differences, data from the previous demo couldn't be integrated, and we ask for your understanding regarding this matter.
Hotfix v3.6.5.6.3
• Added single-player exclusive pause option.
• Added texture streaming option.
• Reduced system memory usage.
• Fixed an issue where residual memory was not cleared after returning to the main menu and restarting the game during gameplay.
• Modified the behavior in multiplayer mode to immediately result in death when falling to the bottom of a building, without waiting for the "rescue" state.
• Fixed a bug that prevented vertical movement when descending from a ladder on the floor.
• Fixed a bug where attacking non-combat monsters from ventilation ducts resulted in no response.
(Now, when attacking monsters from ventilation ducts, if the monster is capable of attacking the player, it will continue the attack smoothly without fleeing).
• Confirmed and fixed a bug where the natural reduction rate of stamina, hydration, and battery was incorrectly applied in single-player mode after having connected to multiplayer mode at least once.
• Fixed a bug in Survival mode where pressing 'esc' on the death data loading screen caused the cursor to disappear and not activate again.
• Fixed a bug in the server list where Russia East was incorrectly labeled as US East.
• Item description corrections: Mattress, Bandage (Korean only).
• Fixed a bug where selecting "Korean" did not display the text properly in the "FPS" setting of the options window.
About the Game Difficulty
We would like to gather detailed feedback on the difficulty level from those who have played the survival mode before making any balance adjustments in the future.
There are six main factors that significantly contribute to determining the difficulty level in our game:
1. The quantity of pre-spawned food items (e.g., canned goods and other packaged products).
2. The quantity of pre-spawned material items (e.g., tape, fireworks, cable ties, etc.).
3. The respawn period for essential resources (water, oil, soil, seeds).
4. The damage dealt by monsters.
5. The speed at which monsters detect players.
6. The respawn time of monsters (currently set at 14 days for both modes).
In addition to these factors, we welcome any other difficulty elements you think might be relevant. Whether it's related to the sandbox mode or the survival mode, please let us know which mode you are referring to!
Regarding the difficulty, we are also considering additional updates, including introducing a hardcore mode and custom mode. The information in this announcement will serve as the foundational data for these modes, so we truly appreciate any detailed feedback you can provide. We will actively incorporate your input to improve the game.
Thank you for continuously showing interest in our game and providing us with valuable feedback. And, as always, feel free to provide feedback in any language. We greatly appreciate it.
Best regards,
Studio Hatch
Gameplay Renewal & Addition of Survival Mode
We want to express our gratitude to those who have been patiently waiting for over a month. The reason for the delay in the update was that we needed to review and make adjustments to all aspects of current "The Highrise" Game based on the feedback received so far. Additionally, it took some time to add and test the new Survival Mode and other major and minor mechanics. With many changes from small tweaks to significant mechanics, you will experience a gameplay that is quite different from before. We are confident that those who have cleared it once and play again will have a better impression!
Let us first highlight the major changes.
All zones have been opened.
We removed all card key generators that blocked the way to the existing zones, allowing unrestricted movement between floors in the open world. Now, you can quickly descend to the first floor right from the start, and rare material items that used to be generated only near the shopping mall can be farmed early on without any issues (if you dare). The card key doors that used to block passage between zones have been integrated into the doors of reward rooms.
Conditions for sending rescue signals have been changed.
Now, we have placed the radio in the early zones so you can find it relatively quickly. However, the radio is broken, and you need to fix them to send rescue signals. To do so, you will need radio components scattered throughout the building, with about half randomly spawning in furniture like other items and the rest being fixed spawns in certain rooms, acting as rewards for solving room mechanics.
A survivor's odor state system has been added.
Over time, the player's odor gauge will increase naturally. This odor represents the sweat, blood, bodily fluids, and other byproducts generated as the player survives. When the odor gauge reaches a certain level, the player will periodically emit a foul smell in the surroundings, which can attract nearby monsters. The only way to eliminate the odor gauge is by creating an improvised bathtub and bathing (the improvised bathtub is a new installation added in this update).
Blueprints have been added to the crafting mechanism.
Blueprints have been added to some crafting items. About half of the craftable items now require blueprints. Blueprints are placed throughout the building and also act as rewards in reward rooms. Once you collect a blueprint, it will be permanently stored within your character, similar to the zone maps. (If you play with a character from version earlier than 3.6.5.6.1, all blueprints will be automatically granted.)
The spawning method of seeds has been changed.
Previously, seeds were only found on the bottom floors of buildings, and the crop mechanism encountered just before escaping the building didn't receive much attention from many players. However, from now on, we have designated specific spawn areas to experience the crop mechanism from the early stages. Seeds are the only resource that enters the building from the outside and can be found in open areas where the exterior walls are exposed. Seeds have also been changed to respawn resources like water and oil.
You can sleep on a mattress now.
Sleeping is only possible during the night when the sun sets, and if you sleep, you can pass time quickly until the sun rises again. However, to sleep, you will need the stamina and hydration equivalent to the natural decrease amount of time until sunrise. When you wake up after sleeping, your stamina and hydration decrease, but your health recovers.
Reward rooms have been added.
The most representative ones are the reward rooms via the card key generators for each zone, and there are also reward rooms with simple mechanics. It would be best to play and experience the details yourself. Representative items obtained in reward rooms include blueprints and radio components.
The storage method of important items and character unlocking method have been changed.
The zone maps, item blueprints, zone card keys, and survivor messages are permanently stored within the player character and cannot be transferred or deleted. These items also do not disappear from the inventory. Additionally, the character unlocking method has been changed. Now, to unlock each of the four characters, you need to collect specific items, which are the same as the four items mentioned above. (The game mode is now independent of this unlocking method.)
Lastly, the Survival Mode has been added.
In Survival Mode, the data of the deceased character is completely wiped. The differences between Survival Mode and Sandbox Mode are as follows:
• Adjustment of respawn time for seeds, water, oil, and dirt piles.
• Adjustment of the spawn quantity of raw and food items.
• Adjustment of AI detection speed.
• Adjustment of AI damage.
• The gardening pot system has been changed. Now, clean water no longer reduces the cultivation time, and crops being cultivated in the gardening pot cannot grow without "clean water." Also, after cultivating six times, you need to refill the soil for the gardening pot.
• The bathtub system has been added. You can wash off your odor in the bathtub, but after using it twice (based on single-player mode balance), you will need to refill it with clean water (two units) to use it again.
• The grappling hook item has been added. The grappling hook can be placed on air vents that face downwards or high places. Each time it is installed, durability decreases, and after depleting all the durability, it can be disassembled.
• Crafting materials now indicate their rarity. Rarity indicates only the depth of the material's potential location and does not represent its absolute value.
• The accurate display of respawn cooldown for respawn items and the exact time for crop cultivation has been removed. However, you can check the approximate time left through the icons on the minimap. Additionally, you can expand the minimap by pressing the M button and navigate through other floors.
• The oil in the generator is consumed over time, and when the oil is completely depleted, the generator cannot function or charge the battery of the device, and it needs to be refueled.
• A penalty of stamina and hydration reduction has been added when vomiting due to food poisoning.
• An additional level of weight penalty has been added. If you carry over 60kg of weight, you will be almost unable to move.
• The damage dealt by monsters to breakable objects and installations has significantly increased. Also, when the player stands on breakable objects or installations, monsters will focus on attacking the breakable objects and installations under the player's feet.
• When a monster detects a player, the monster's roar now attracts other monsters to the player's location, not where the monster roared.
• Monsters will no longer flee from the player who has just escaped through air vents during combat, as long as the player is within their attack range.
• The respawn number of Sniffers has been adjusted. From now on, the number of respawning snipers will be about half of the initial spawn quantity.
• Chef now has a tail bite (exploring the player's vicinity upon first encounter).
• Chef's charging judgment has been adjusted more precisely, and the speed has been increased.
• During combat with Chef, running speed has been increased.
• Chef's attack speed has been increased.
• Chef's basic attack damage has been nerfed to 24, but the charge attack damage remains unchanged.
• The rarity of gas burners has been reduced by one level, allowing early zone farming.
• The hydration gauge has been moved to the stamina gauge.
• The spawn quantity of food items has decreased significantly.
• Basic material furniture will no longer respawn.
• The zone map for Sky Lounge will be given to the player immediately at the start of a new game.
• The damage of the Molotov cocktail has been buffed to 200 but the radius has been significantly reduced to 1 meter.
• The battery recharge time has increased to 24 minutes (in-game time, equivalent to one day).
• The spawn quantity of batteries has been reduced to one per zone.
• The number of Sniffers in Sky Lounge has been reduced from 3 to 2.
• Each important door in each zone has been assigned a distinct color from the primary colors.
• Water respawns will be increased to 3 weeks.
• Mushrooms will no longer respawn.
• An offset is applied to all resource respawn times. (1 week has a 1-day offset, 2 weeks have a 2-day offset, 3 weeks have a 3-day offset).
• You will receive one more set of cooked food and water at the start.
• The reduction amount of food poisoning due to clean water has been buffed to 10 from 5.
• The weight of garden pots has been reduced to 6kg.
• The weight of wills has been reduced to 8kg.
• The weight of pipe bombs has been reduced to 300g.
• The weight of nail guns has been changed to 1.1kg.
• Now, you can enter the host's world even without loading all of it.
• In multiplayer, the natural reduction rate (maximum stamina, hydration, battery) of player stats will fluctuate based on the number of players. With two players, the natural reduction rate will be 50%, and with three players, it will be 33%.
• Now, in multiplayer, when players perform specific interactions simultaneously, the preemptive confirmation function prevents bugs.
• The firing delay of pistols, shotguns, and rifles has been reduced.
• You can now check all descriptions of stats in the inventory.
• Collected maps, blueprints, card keys, and messages can be viewed in the inventory (messages can also be opened by clicking on them).
• Some areas now have darkrooms.
• The expansion function of the mini-map has been refined. You can activate it with the M key and check different floors using W, S, or the mouse wheel.
• The clouds, which were deleted at the start of the early access, are now back.
• Constellation effects in the sky have been added.
• Almost all additional translations have been applied and adjusted to all languages.
• Cooked "Sticky Meat" can no longer be used as a substitute for generator oil.
• Both "Sticky Meat" and cooked "Sticky Meat" have significantly nerfed stamina recovery amounts.
• Main menu and option UIs have been refined.
• A frame rate setting feature has been added to the options.
• A separate mouse sensitivity option for scoped aiming has been added for rifles.
• The highlight display distance of interactive objects in the surroundings has been reduced from the previous 15 meters to 10 meters.
• Some UI designs have been modified.
• Various console information has been added.
• Some sound effects have been replaced and added.
• The interaction outline has been added to the long ladders in the central elevator rooms that appear starting from Damper.
• Fixed a bug where the headshot judgment of Elite Snipers did not work correctly.
• Fixed a bug where monsters would intermittently cross through barricades installed on doors.
• Fixed a bug where interacting with barricades more than once intermittently did not properly apply the generator's information after restarting the game.
• Fixed a bug where the player's weapon would explode while running with a pipe bomb above them.
• Fixed a bug where monsters would occasionally show diminished reactions when smelling.
• Fixed a bug where the helicopter appearing in the ending cutscene would intermittently appear in a location other than the rooftop depending on the resolution of display.
• Fixed a bug where the indication of discharge and charged batteries were reversed.
• Fixed a bug where the sound effect for drinking water while holding water in hand would intermittently change every sound to the sound of opening a lid.
• Fixed a bug where some numerical UIs would intermittently display excessive decimal places.
That concludes the update details for The Highrise. We want to express our gratitude once again to everyone who showed interest in our game and waited patiently for the update.
Also, we plan to have a weekly sale in the future, so if you know anyone interested in The Highrise, we would greatly appreciate it if you could let them know about our discounts.
Best regards from Studio HATCH.
Short Hofix Patch for v3.6.5.5.0
This is a short hotfix patch!
Bug fixes:
• Fixed a bug that prevented access to slot save information when entering a password-protected room.
• Fixed a bug where clean water, initially provided in a drawer at the start of the game, would spawn in a form that pierced through the drawer.
• Modified the generation of new save information to no longer check for duplicate names with previous save information.
• Fixed a bug in multiplayer mode where item information was not properly synchronized when a new player joined with two existing players.
We are currently investigating intermittent bugs that occur when three players enter a room together, causing movement restrictions for one player, as well as a bug where crop harvesting does not function.
Thank you all for your reports!