THE LIGHT KEEPS US SAFE - The Fifth Gate And The Charred Valley
Having already unleashed a new horror upon you earlier this week, we have updated again with the opening of the fifth gate within the bunker. IMPORTANT NOTE: this represents a sort of opening up of options at this point, as there is no further light type to unlock. We are essentially giving you two levels after the Dissolve unlock to explore, one of which is much more dangerous than the other. (And that's this new biome!)
The new biome has what might be our favourite environment so far, with ash raining from the skies, and areas of the ground itself on fire.
Even more formidable are two new compounds. These contain a bunch of new challenges: a roving column of fire, new outer areas to navigate, and more of the machine traps than ever before. (All the compounds will be revisited in a future patch, of course, so let us know how you get on with these so we can build in that delicious feedback.)
After Christmas we will be going heads down for a bit on a big update to bring you some of the more final elements of the game, as well as localising for a bunch of languages. That should result in a very large update that brings us closer to a completed experience. As you can imagine, we're fairly keep on that!
Regarding random performance drops in some locations: we're aware of that and it's down to distribution in the generation. We're going to do some heftier level-of-detail scaling and culling in the next update and that should, all being well, fix things in the majority of cases.
One final note: Please do leave a review! Whatever the length, it's helpful. Not only is the feedback essential, but the greater number of reviews helps us further promote the game.
Changes in full:
A new "Dissolve" gate accessible within the bunker.
A fourth biome type, generating a burned, ashen landscape.
New compounds and trap types.
Fix to the double component prop in the metal tower.
Bottle distraction levels balanced again. (A work in progress!)
Fixed some issues with sky textures.
And have lovely holidays, wherever you are, and whatever you are doing. <3
More soon!
-BR
THE LIGHT KEEPS US SAFE - Some Fixes & An Invisible Humanoid!
Brr! It's a quick and minor update, but it means a new enemy is stalking us across the gloomy spaces of The Light Keeps Us Safe, and it's one that is initially invisible and (almost) unstoppable! We're certain you'll figure out some ways to take him on, of course...
This chap has been seeded through a bunch of the later environments, so he should appear in both new and old games, but the best way to check him out is to start over. Yes, he's rather invisible, but don't worry, there are some visual clues, and you'll certainly hear him coming.
The update, which we've just pushed live, also has some prep work and fixes for another patch which will arrive later this week, bringing with it a new "ashen" biome, with a new gate opening in the bunker! That's just a few more days off.
In the meantime, please do leave us a Steam review, they really do help.
Those changes in full:
New INVISIBLE HUMANOID now spawns across a series of levels.
Bottle smash audio rebalanced vs new AI hearing, movement and response (this will probably remain a work in progress for a while!)
Various obscure textures compressed to help with performance and overall use of memory buffer. Those super-detailed ceiling textures really weren't doing us any favours...
Missing colliders added to the fancier barrel models.
A bunch of particle effects dialled back to help with frame rate drops in specific areas. It looks like 99% of this is multiple transparencies causing horribleness, and we'll continue trying to improve it.
Terrain and model setup for the new biome.
More (quite) soon!
cheers,
-BR
THE LIGHT KEEPS US SAFE - A Large And Horrible Update!
Hello! And here we are again with an update for The Light Keeps Us Safe.
It's [a]live!
We've mostly been trying to make things harder on you for this update. We have a new and more terrifying robot drone patrolling our achingly atmospheric landscapes, as well as new environmental hazards which will require creative uses of the various light types to navigate safely...
We also have the Psychic Attack Scarecrow and a "Slow Homer". So those are a thing now.
These have been introduced across all levels and biomes, so your best bet to seem them all is a fresh playthrough, although saved games should be intact with this update.
Patch Notes!
NEW STUFF
Psychic Attack Scarecrow added to crop fields.
Minebot v2 now patrolling all maps.
Alien garden with Minebot v1 now appearing across the map.
The Slow Homer now appearing in compounds.
Dissolvable barriers can appear around outbuildings.
A Reveal Wall Maze now appears in later compounds.
Lethal pulsing spheres can appear in woodland areas.
Vastly increased range of ambient particle effects.
New "small cabin" category of outbuilding.
OTHER STUFF
Swamp pylons can now be overcharged and deactivated.
Bottles no longer heard across the level.
Minebots can now path to previously inaccessible locations.
Light motes available in more locations.
Tripwires appear in more locations.
Can no longer pick up Light Motes if inventory is full.
Foundations smoothed to a ramp, making pathing easier.
Various lighting effects tweaked for better general atmospherics.
LADDER STUFF
Ladders are probably fixed. Probably. No, really this time.
Next up we will be looking at localisation across all major languages, and the introduction of THE INVISIBLE HUMANOID. Muahaha, etc.
Yeah.
More soon!
-BR
THE LIGHT KEEPS US SAFE - A New Gate Opens!
BEHOLD: Light has been updated!
A new exit out of the bunker has appeared! And it leads to a place where that freshly unlocked DISSOLVER BEAM is going to come in pretty useful for, well, staying alive and stuff.
This update includes:
A new and horrible "moorlands" biome, with two new, weirdo compound areas!
The Dissolve light and delicious dissolvable barriers within the world!
Revised light mote counts.
Improved loot tables!
A "hit" sound cue for using the charge beam.
First of the "tentacle" scenery...
Yes, the latest update comes with our new light type, which makes your progress through the landscape of The Light Keeps Us Safe a little more dangerous. While burning your way through barriers provides one set of interactions from the torch, we've also revised a bunch of others based on your feedback, and lightfearers will now react to all light types, while each of the other light types gain a few new interactions of their own. We'll leave you to figure that out.
ALSO
We're particularly interested in feedback with regards to signposting and tutorialising, and we're going to be looking at some of that stuff next, to make the game a little easier on those who come at it for the first time. We don't really want to hand-hold too much, or negate the fun in discovery, but we do feel like we could provide more of a guide, or at least some signposting to push people in the right direction. If you have any suggestions please share them with us in comments or on the forums!
AND
Our next update will probably be a drop of new badguys, of which we have several in the works, and there will be a new biome following that up pretty quickly too. Expect more updates really soon! :E
BUT THEN
The launch discount for THE LIGHT KEEPS US SAFE ends at the end of Halloween sale, so get it now for that sweet, sweet -15% discount. Also
Happy Halloween!
-BR
PS: Don't forget to follow us on Twitter for more regular development updates, screenshots, and general Big Robot warbling!
THE LIGHT KEEPS US SAFE - Tinkering With All The Things!
Just letting you know another quick update coming in now. It's mostly fixes and Quality Of Life stuff.
Like so:
Bunker entrance lights enbrightened.
Portal mote count increased. (More required per light. And no, you can't turn the machine on yet anyway, sorry!)
Misc minor bug fixes.
Movement tweaks to help prevent sticking to things, and improve crouch/run handling.
Hopeful death of the ladder bug.
More soon!
-BR
THE LIGHT KEEPS US SAFE - Minor update incoming!
Hello!
Still no fix for the crazy ladder thing (it's something to do with multiple colliders!) but we have some other fixes in a patch that's going up right now:
Speculative fixes for alt-tab issues
Upgrading the flashlight recharges it
Game autosaves when recharging the light
Tweaked player controls when trying to run/jump while crouched
Fixed axis inversion not saving with control settings (invert mouse now works!)
Other minor tweaks & fixes
As ever, let us know if you find anything!
More soon.
-BR
THE LIGHT KEEPS US SAFE - Out Now!
Hey everyone!
Our brand new stealth and survival game, THE LIGHT KEEPS US SAFE, is now live on Steam Early Access.
We'll be streaming it on the store page in a few minutes time.
<3
-BR
THE LIGHT KEEPS US SAFE - Coming Tomorrow!
Hello everyone!
This is just a quick reminder that The Light Keeps Us Safe will be released at 9am PST (5pm UK) tomorrow, October 11th.
If you haven't had a look at the gameplay trailer yet, then check it out over here. And, hey, we have to say the game has already moved on this since that footage, because this Early Access and we're motoring!
Oh and just one other little thing: we put Sir, You Are Being Hunted on sale for the week. So combine that with the launch discount and you could pick up Sir and The Light Keeps Us Safe together for close to the price of a single one of our games...
This is our second time around in Early Access, and after the huge success of Sir, You Are Being Hunted we want to try to again make things as transparent as possible, and make it as easy as we can to create a game which has regular updates everyone can enjoy and feel a part of.
While this (below!) is our current plan for how things are going to unfold - with a few mysteries and teases! - we are going to be completely free to change this plan in response to feedback and our own creative decision-making. We don't want anything to constrain the creativity. These update phases will come as a regular series of smaller and larger individual updates, with no specific dates or deadlines attached, but you can expect fixes and tweaks to arrive regularly, with new bits of serious content landing every few weeks.
As you'll see when you jump into the game, the Bunker level gives us the perfect hub from which you can explore new outside landscapes as we add them (and the tools you'll need to survive them!)
Okay, so, we see this as being three broad phases:
Phase One: Initial Early Access Updates
This is stuff we’ve already done a bit of work and will definitely get into the game soon!
First round of new enemies (Invisible Humanoids and other dangerous interactions).
New biome (Desolate Moorland).
A fourth Light, the Dissolve (already teased at the end of current in-game arc).
Refuelling generators and electricity-driven actions and puzzles.
The best Easter Egg we’ve ever made (by about fifty miles).
Phase Two: Frighteners
This is stuff that we have planned but needs a bunch more work before it happens, as well as things that will be responsive to your feedback!
The Disease and Hallucination update (more weird vectors for peril!)
Second new biome (Ashen/burning lands).
The Scarecrow Returns (and he has a friend).
Responding to Feedback from Phase One! :D
Phase Three: The End Phase
This is the big long-term goals, and stuff that we see as being necessary for the full arc of an early-access title.
The final light type.
The ENTER THE LIGHT update (big story overhaul).
Loot and inventory update based on feedback from previous phases.
The final, horrible boss.
The (grim and terrifying) ending revealed at last!
As always, this stuff is all up for refinement through exposure to the real world of gamers getting their teeth into it, so we really do need your feedback to make it the best game it can be. Let us know your experiences, and share your ideas for the game, on the forums and on Twitter.
More soon!
-BR
THE LIGHT KEEPS US SAFE - First Gameplay Trailer!
Hello, everyone!
We thought you might like to take a look at our grimdark new gameplay trailer for THE LIGHT KEEPS US SAFE. Early Access release coming on October 11th!
