Looks like I still have a thing or two to learn about trigger disciple when it comes to deploying updates.
Sorry for the confusion! Hotfix 3635 is now live, and corrects the save game bug found in 3633. If you were one of the few affected by the bug, please visit this discussion thread for a a solution. Thanks for your patience!
All of the previous patch notes are now actually live and good to go.
PSA Make sure you get the very latest update!
There is a major issue found in the last patch where people's save files are being deleted. I've reverted the patch, but if you have played in the last 30 minutes, you save file may have been affected.
Let me know here if this has affected you and I'll work on getting you your progress back!
Patch Notes Build 3633
Update #3: Three-hee-hee
Time to address more of those bugs!
PATCHNOTES:
VR:
OK, this time I swear I actually fixed the fans in VR. I completely rewrote the fan code and have personally vetted every fan in the game in VR, so there should be no more issues with this (knock on wood). Essentially what was causing the super slow motion was that the player could potentially never technically “reach the top” in VR due to literal height differences between players. This has been entirely reworked and should be a comfortable and consistent experience in VR.
General:
I added a save backup for both the main game saves and the in level quicksaves. Essentially this should help prevent edge case issues if for some reason the save file was halfway written during a power failure, for example. The system should automatically move over to using the backup files, but should it not, you can manually swap the files very easily in explorer. Quicksaves backups are a little different in that they only save when a talisman quad is placed, giving the user a sort of hard “checkpoint” to be able to backup to incase something goes wrong during play and they want to reset.
Zeneth (Hub):
Fixed some collision in the Rune Forest area to prevent players from getting stuck.
Lake:
Fixed an issue where you could get stuck between some pillars and ice on the second talisman quad puzzle (elephant forest area). (Thanks Colin :D)
Desert:
Fixed an out of bounds problem in the second area.
Rune Levels / Short Stories:
Fixed some collision around Cassia’s level where you could go out of bounds.
To address some of the issues brought up last patch…
My best guess on the flickering in the left eye on Vive issue is that it is caused by out of date graphics drivers. Make sure you guys update your drivers before trying again, and if the issue persists, make a post on the discussion forums listing your hardware and driver combo.
There seems to be a few graphical errors when playing on Intel graphics. We don’t officially support Intel Graphics (mainly because most of them are too underpowered for the game) but I’ll take a look on my Intel system and see if I can find out what is happening anyways. It may also be a driver issue.
On the platforming front, I’m thinking about prototyping an optional jump assist like the one found in Croteam’s Talos Principle (shoutout to Croteam, I met a few of them at PAX a few years back and they are awesome people with an awesome game). For those not familiar with it, when the player can make a jump a “footstep” symbol shows where the player will end up. If the player presses the jump button while the icon is visible they interpolate to the location, no precision required. This, of course, would be an opt-in feature; normal jumping would not be affected. Let me know if this sounds like something that you would use in the comments.
Patch Notes Build 3632
Update #2: Electric Boogaloo
I’ve got some weekend updates for XING, live for you today! Check out the changelist:
PATCHNOTES:
VR:
Fixed a bug where vertically facing fans (updrafts) were drastically reducing movement speed in VR.
Disabled buttons in the menu no longer highlight when traced by a motion controller
General:
Fixed an issue where gameplay settings were getting reset to default whenever the player changed levels.
The movement tutorial will no longer show if you return to your save file after completing the game. (You’d think you would know how to move by then!)
Zeneth (Hub):
Updated the circular door graphics to accurately reflect the number of poetry per level (whoops!)
Removed an erroneously placed teleporter mesh in the rune forrest / short stories area.
Beach:
Added an extra stone head near the bonfire to facilitate easier passage to the treasure.
Made the collision on the stone heads larger for easier jumps
Rainforest:
Hanging drums should no longer get stuck in an upward position if hit really hard (limited the swing angle)
Hanging drums no longer light up if touched by the player
Lake:
Fixed a critical bug where player’s could spawn to an inactive respawn node and be stuck underwater. NOTE: To anyone who experienced this issue, this patch will fix your save (you should spawn back up above the water when you reopen your file) but the music will be stuck on the final puzzle music. If this bothers you, you can reset the level using the menu to get the music back to normal, though you will need to replay the level back to where you were.
Rune Levels / Short Stories:
Fixed the text on the 3rd tablet in Rowland’s story to match the voice over.
SPOILER NOTES:
Akasha:
The door to Akasha should now remember if it has been opened if you quit before entering.
Fixed some rubbish collision on the path to the first power beacon (time of day)
Known Issues / Planned Features
Some users are still reporting the left eye transparency flickering problem on Vive. I’m not positive, but I believe this is an issue with certain graphics drivers and Unreal. I’ve sent out a support ticket to Epic for a solution, but in the meantime people have said restarting their computer has fixed the issue for them. Seems weird, maybe it is something to do with SteamVR settings carrying over from other applications… not sure yet. Let me know if you find any clues on the forums.
I’m going to add mouse and gamepad sensitivity options to the menu. The variables are actually already there in “Game.ini”, they just don’t have an option in the menu yet.
We are thinking about adding an indicator for VR users noting where the center of their playspace is should you move too far away from it.. For comfort reasons, XING does not move the player’s collision capsule with the HMD movement. That could possibly create situations like the player walking forward in real life into a wall, but the camera would stay stationary due to the collision. While that sounds like it makes sense, it causes a serious disconnect when the game camera doesn’t move when you do. By decoupling HMD movement from the actual collision in game, however, the can be situations where the player doesn’t know where their actual collision is compared to their position in real life. Hopefully this would reduce the number of “I fell through the floor” reports, as these are caused by people thinking they are in the center of their avatar in game but in reality they may be a ways away.
I want to address some of the platforming issues brought up as well. As many of you pointed out, the ability to jump differentiates XING from some of it’s contemporaries, but some of the jumps are a little rough. I’ll be sweeping through the game and cleaning up any oddball platforming sections.
Patch Notes Build 3631
UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE
Wow it hasn’t even been 24 hours yet and here I am, pushing an update. A hotfix? Dunno, call it whatever ya like here’s what’s up with XING.
PATCHNOTES:
VR:
A post process sharpen effect has been added as an option under the display settings menu. This is especially useful at lower screen percentages to reduce blur, especially in VR. Because XING defaults at screen percentage 100 for compatibility with all ranges of hardware, I’ve gone ahead and made sharpen 1 the default for use in VR. You can use the sharpen setting in desktop rendering if you like as well, but you’ll mileage may vary.
Fixed a major issue for Rift users with high end hardware looking to up the screen percentage: The screen percentage option now correctly sets the adaptive pixel density’s maximum value, rather than just the current, so higher than 100% won’t automatically snap back to 100. Additionally, the minimum value for adaptive pixel density is also adjusted with the setting - it is always set to be 50 steps lower than the maximum listed, ie if you set the slider to 120%, the new max will be 120 where the min will be 70. These numbers can be tweaked in the “Game.INI” configuration file is you desire granular control. Furthermore, a new option in the VR settings menu now allows Rift users to completely disable adaptive pixel density, should they prefer to keep the screen percentage static and manual. All in all, this should provide Rift users with more control over their image quality, and allow for high screen percentages for a reduction of blur. Note that these changes only affect Rift users, as Vive does not currently have a turnkey adaptive resolution mode for Unreal 4.
Added an option in the VR settings menu to enable “Touch-Only” trackpad support for Vive wands. This is intended to reduce wear and tear on the controllers and was requested by many users. It is left off by default but should save you choice should you want to enable it.
General:
The “Invert Y” option in the menu now affects the mouse as well as gamepads
Fixed a bug where the “Exit to Zeneth” button required the user to open the menu again before proceeding.
Added a confirmation page for the restart level button (Sorry for those who may have accidently pressed this before!)
Beach:
Fixed an extremely odd teleport situation where the player could respawn inside a rock near the very end of the level
Rainforest:
Added an extra respawning location to handle a case where one could respawn back at the final puzzle after completing it
I’m still investigating the issue some Vive users are reporting about certain transparent effects flickering in and out of one eye. I’ve seen the issue before while developing but only from editor and very infrequently, so I just assumed it was just SteamVR acting up, but a few of you are reporting it in the Steam build as well. I saw that Epic had some posts about this phenomenon a while back (something related to using instanced stereo rendering) but it almost looks like it was never fully resolved. I’ll messaged them and continue to look for a fix myself.
We had an AWESOME launch by my metrics. It’s been a real pleasure hearing everyone’s reactions to the game and reading the reviews. If you haven’t done so already and are liking the game, give us a little review, or better yet, let your favorite gaming news site know about us!
Cheers!
RELEASE DAY!
WE DID IT!
We finally released!It's real, as in you can actually go download it and play it!
I'm incredibly honored to present XING: The Land Beyond to the Steam Community at large. Welcome to XING, everyone.
A huge shout out to all of the original backers and Steam Greenlighters waaaaay back in 2013. You guys are crazy for believing in us kids to actually release this game! I just hope that the experience is payment enough for all of your patience over the years.
The original soundtrack by your's truly is available here at Bandcamp, free to stream. Take a listen!
We are working hard on getting the game through the proper review channels. Did I say publishing is hard? Releasing a game in 2017 is hard! In the meantime, please be vocal about your experiences with the game. Write a review here on Steam. If you like it, give a shout out to your favorite publication!
I'll be full time supporting the game while we look towards the future of White Lotus Interactive, and the future of XING.
Did I say 18th? I totally meant the 21st
So, it turns out publishing a game is hard. I regret to announce XING has been delayed...
3 days. It is now coming out on Thursday, September 21st.
It's still happening, just a few days later! And my last announcement still applies: Next Friday you will still be able to enjoy XING! And for those who were actually ready to play on Monday, my sincerest apologies.
Additionally, if you possess a review key and anxious to post your review, we ask that you please wait until the new date of the 21st to avoid spoilers. Thanks!
P.S. If you are a reviewer and you still have not received a review key, message us at info@xingthegame.com
The time has come. It's the dawn of the final Friday...
...the last Friday you'll ever spend waiting for XING: The Land Beyond to come out, that is!
Ladies and gentlemen, we are on track for our September 18th launch!
Next Friday, you'll be kicking back at your desk with a cold beverage and some snacks, ready to blaze the trail of the afterlife on a fresh install of XING for the weekend. That is, if you haven't already unraveled the mysteries of XING during the week!
This past week has been super crazy for us, as anyone who has worked on a game before would guess. I've been going between fixing bugs (the list seems to disappear then completely fill up on a whim!), managing the soundtrack for upload, messing around with distribution settings and assets, and working with Kori on marketing and outreach. We are going to have a fun day this Sunday pulling our hair out trying to figure out what we might have forgotten. : P
Yesterday we just added 25 most excellent achievements to XING for you all to discover and unlock. I must say, there is a certain satisfaction in being the master of the achievements, for once. I have many memories of slaving over achievements in Steam games over the years, especially in TF2 back when unlocking achievements actually netted you in game items.
Don't worry, grabbing achievements won't actually affect your gameplay in XING, but the actual events leading up to some of them should be pretty entertaining in themselves. Besides, you get those sweet icons that show up on your profile as a demonstration of all your honor and valor in the afterlife.
This being our first game and given our limited resources, I'm expecting to go on full time for the next several weeks performing support duties and of course responding to any and every message we might get.
Alright, that's it! Let's blast this thing off right! It's 5:30 AM after a long night of bug-fixing, and after some rest I'll be at it again.
Good-morning, world. XING is coming.
Release date and new trailer coming soon!
Hey everyone,
John here. I figure I should make an update announcement to make up for the lack of beta release notes. If you've been following the beta closely, great! We have actually been pushing bi-monthly updates, but things are changing so fast it didn't really make sense to try to make an accurate patch notes for each push.
I'm mirroring a post I made on our offical devblog so if you want to see more like this, or some extra neat webms, check it out!
On a broad note, things are really shaping up. There are only a handful of music tracks left for me to make, and our bug-list is getting smaller and smaller. We peaked at somewhere around 300 Trello cards back in April, and have been working diligently to keep diminishing that number.
At this moment the game is very playable. Other than specific bugs, most of my effort has been put towards finishing and mastering the remaining music tracks, tweaking graphical goodies, and adding pizzazz to all the events in the game. We'll also be addressing some "would be cool ifs", especially concerning the ability to return to a world after completion. Ironing out issues with the quicksave is also a priority - players expect the world to be the same when they return!
We've also been focusing on pushing out a new trailer, which is really shaping up to be a stunner. We've decided on using an updated version of the original kickstarter trailer music as template, but I'm thinking that I might release one of the brand new tracks from the game for those who have been following us since the early days. Keep your eyes (and ears!) peeled for the trailer and maybe a preview of the soundtrack.
Speaking of keeping your eyes peeled, I'd like to announce we will be announcing our release day.... with the trailer! Which is coming soon. I promise.
Actually, now that I think about it, here is some scary math. I started working on this game around April 2012. Up until today's date, that is 1948 days. These are obviously not all work days, so we'll call them project days.
I just celebrated my 27th birthday a few days ago. 1948 is already a pretty big number, but what is truly frightful is taking that number as a percentage of the days I've been alive. This equates to...
19.7%.
Nineteen point seven percent of my life has been working on or thinking about this game. And I don't regret a second of it. This game isn't my magnum opus. It isn't my 9th. But it has been an amazing journey of learning, discipline, and creativity. It's been like enrolling in grad school, starting a business, and writing a symphony all at the same time, and thus has been immensely enriching throughout the years.
I also happen to think the game is pretty fun : D
I truly don't know what I'll be doing or where I'll go after this project is all said and done, but I do know that I'll be carrying the wisdom I've gained from it throughout my career.
Announcing our Steam Store Page!
Today we are excited to announce the “coming soon” status of our new Steam Store page!
With the opening the Steam Store page also comes the Steam Community Hub, where you’ll be able to participate in discussions, as well as post screenshots and other media. We’ll be using a private discussion page for our beta, which will be starting very soon!
Something like this might not seem like a major deal, but as a three person development AND publishing team, it falls on us to do everything related to getting this game into people's hands, including managing everything that goes into making an awesome storefront for XING.
We’ve also come up with our final “box art” design for the game, which you’ll see in many forms and formats labeling our game, including on Steam and the Oculus store, as well as the PlayStation Store. It’s taken us some time to come up with a graphic that captures both the art and feeling of our game without being just an out of context screenshot background, and we hope this new logo will pique the curiosity of new players.
Speaking of progress, we are currently finishing up some nuts and bolts to get our first official beta out and ready for those generous kickstarter backers who earned the beta backer reward years ago. Since starting this beta build push we’ve finally had the opportunity to really look at the game as a whole, and wow, it’s taken a form that we never would have dreamed of back in 2013. The game is significantly larger and more content rich than we initially set out to achieve, and so more than ever we need help to make sure everything can be experienced in a silky smooth fashion. There are still plenty of bugs, features, quality of life improvements, performance optimizations, and overall quality assurance issues to be addressed in the coming months, but with the help of some of our backers as well as friends and family, we look forward to taking on the challenge of the polish phase of development.
For those who have been following us since our beginnings, we can’t thank you all enough for your support and continued enthusiasm. We think XING will find a happy home on Steam, alongside all of our other platforms and distribution methods, and we are eager to see what the Steam community will make of our game.
