Hello Outer Wilds players!

Today we're launching the Annapurna Interactive Puzzle Bundle, featuring four acclaimed, puzzle-centric games we've published. The games are...

https://steamproxy.net/steamstore/app/1497440/COCOON/

• COCOON (Developer: Geometric Interactive)

[/h3]
Steam - Overwhelmingly Positive (95%)
Metacritic - 88
Winner - Best Independent Game (DICE Awards), Best Debut Indie Game (The Game Awards)[/list]

https://steamproxy.net/steamstore/app/557600/Gorogoa/

• Gorogoa (Developer: Buried Signal)

[/h3]
Steam - Overwhelmingly Positive (97%)
Metacritic - 84
Winner - Innovation Award (GDC Awards), Best Debut Game (BAFTAs)[/list]

https://steamproxy.net/steamstore/app/2008920/Lorelei_and_the_Laser_Eyes/

• Lorelei and the Laser Eyes (Developer: Simogo)

[/h3]
Steam - Overwhelmingly Positive (96%)
Metacritic - 89[/list]

https://steamproxy.net/steamstore/app/753640/Outer_Wilds/

• Outer Wilds (Developer: Mobius Digital)

[/h3]
Steam - Overwhelmingly Positive (95%)
Metacritic - 85
Winner - Game of the Year (BAFTAs), Grand Prize (Independent Games Festival)[/list]
If you loved any of these games, we hope you'll give some others a shot. The bundle is available now, with an extra 10% discount on top of ongoing Summer Sale discounts.

https://steamproxy.net/steamstore/bundle/42065/Annapurna_Interactive_Puzzle_Classics/

Thanks for playing!

-Annapurna Interactive

Thanks to Patch 14, you should now be able to play Outer Wilds on your Steam Deck with default settings. We hope this update makes Outer Wilds more enjoyable for our Steam Deck players! As always, you can reach us via email to report any issues.


If you want to go back in time a bit, we’ve made Patch 13 available via Steam’s Betas. With this addition, Steam players can access versions of Outer Wilds as early as Patch 10. Our standard disclaimer applies: these builds have known issues that were fixed in later versions. Recent save files might also be corrupted if you use them with previous versions. Before reporting any issues, please switch to the latest version and double check whether you still have problems.

For common troubleshooting or other issues, please visit our Support Page.[www.mobiusdigitalgames.com]

Thanks for playing and happy exploring!

Outer Wilds and Echoes of the Eye Patch 14 is now available! This is a small patch to address some issues on the Steam Deck, and we fixed some bugs while we were at it. It includes accessibility improvements on all platforms: a new Large UI Mode, improvements to the legibility of some button icons, and an FOV slider on consoles!

We hope this mode will help folks playing on smaller screens or who just wish the text and UI was a bit bigger. By default, the game will automatically detect what size the UI should be based on your platform and display. If you’d like to manually set the size, simply go to Options > Audio & Language > UI Size. You can then choose between Auto, Regular, or Large.

Patch 1.1.14 Changes:

• New Gamma calibration screen. Currently, there is an issue with the new Gamma Calibration screen where mouse input doesn’t work. This can be worked around by pressing "E" or "Enter" on your keyboard to confirm your selection.
  
• Damage received only in your mind no longer counts toward the "Die Hard" achievement
  
• The player's dead body can no longer trigger ship log entries
  
• Translator tool bug fixed where it would sometimes break when "auto-equip translator" is turned off
  
• Pursuers no longer pass through certain barriers
  
• Minor adjustments to the Starlit Village
  
• You can no longer parkour yourself out of [REDACTED]

• Plants no longer appear to "glow" when gamma is set to High
  
• Lights no longer glow through the Ship dashboard
  
• Players probe no longer gets mis-scaled when fired at certain spots
  
• A certain cosmic event is now correctly visible through a specific screen
  
• Fix for certain weather phenomena not correctly forming on Giant's Deep under specific circumstances
  
• Materials on certain masks now match
  
• Various fixes for assets floating or intersecting in odd ways
  
• Various fixes for incorrect, misaligned or missing textures and materials
  
• Various fixes for issues where the player could get stuck
  
• Various fixes for missing or odd collisions
  
• Various minor visual fixes

• Fixed invisible gravity crystals
  
• Fix for certain areas thinking the player is outside of its LOD zone when the player enters the area under specific circumstances
  
• Fixed leaving a specific type of item on a certain craft causing the item to disappear under certain circumstances
  
• Fix for the screen going black during some vertical transitions in the DLC
  
• Fixed a few issues with the ship's align-with-target behavior in landing mode

• New Large UI mode! To manually set UI size, go to Options > Audio & Language > UI Size
  
• Improved legibility of button icons for control sticks, shoulder buttons, and triggers
  
• Reorganized the Graphics Menu Options
  
• HUD markers now display the correct distance to objects inside Dark Bramble
  
• Various UI bug fixes

• Fixed missing characters in various languages most notably Chinese, Japanese, and Korean
  
• Improved line breaks and spacing in various languages
  
• Fixed various typos

• Workaround for NVidia driver bug is now disabled by default. If you have an NVidia card, please make sure that you have updated to driver version 528.02 or later. (Workaround can still be enabled by editing the secret settings file.)
  
• Updated default graphics settings when playing on Steam Deck
  
• Minor code fixes and improvements for the modding community. Happy hunting!

• A can of marshmallows somewhere seems to have expired...

We want to say thank you all again! As we said last time, there are no more major updates planned for Outer Wilds or Echoes of the Eye because we are moving on to new projects. There might be smaller updates, like this one, as we have time, but we cannot guarantee more updates. Regardless, you can reach us via email to report any issues.

Thanks for your support and keep exploring!

Outer Wilds: Echoes of the Eye is now available on Steam!

Purchase it here: https://steamproxy.net/steamstore/app/1622100/Outer_Wilds__Echoes_of_the_Eye/

Along with the expansion comes patches version 1.1.8, 1.1.9, and 1.1.10. Here's what's changed in the current version:

• Turkish is now an available language
  
• Fixed writing and localization throughout the game
  
• Polished clue for Southern Observatory and fixed a contradiction regarding the museum statue
  
• New Nomai computer on Hollow’s Lantern

• Overhauled input rebinding system and controller support
  
• Planetary bodies and the sun no longer become invisible beyond a viewing distance of 50 km
  
• Ocean shader optimizations
  
• Fixed some behavior involving Nomai viewing platforms
  
• Numerous bug fixes

• “Gear Options” menu revamped to “Pre-flight Checklist” menu
  
• Major menu revisions

• New building and campsite added to Timber Hearth
  
• The doze off ability is now unlocked after getting the launch codes
  
• Future exhibit site added to observatory museum
  
• Hearthian Deep Space Satellite added to solar system
  
• Increased player jump responsiveness
  
• Boost can now be activated even if boost/jump input is pressed slightly before up thrust input
  
• Made it easier to launch Scout through certain ruined walls
  
• Hide-and-seek frequency is now removed after the tutorial
  
• Traveler instruments are now affected by a certain event
  
• Revised a visual aid in the Southern Observatory to be less misleading

• Improved lighting model on ghost matter crystals and similar shaders
  
• Added ambient occlusion volumes to improve lighting in dark spaces
  
• Updated credits sequence

• New music and SFX throughout Echoes of the Eye content
  
• Numerous gameplay improvements throughout Echoes of the Eye content
  
• Numerous optimizations to improve performance
  
• Numerous bugfixes, particularly to input and controller rebinding
  
• Props and small art fixes throughout Echoes of the Eye content

• A hidden treasure was added
  
• Fix to rumble on multiple controllers
  
• A fix for UI textures for input bindings being incorrect in certain situations
  
• Logan's fix for shadow seams along the river cubemap
  
• Fixed a nullref for a certain ending
  
• Fixed the silhouette of ruins not showing up in post-credits scene
  
• Fix for BH white hole proxy thing that caused BH chunks to float in space
  
• Fix for Radio Tower signal

For those who are just downloading version 1.1.8, please ensure that all subsequent patches are installed; in particular 1.1.9 significantly improves the gameplay experience.

(this is a crosspost[www.mobiusdigitalgames.com])

Hello everyone!

Now that we have zipped through the solar system, we’re going to take a look at the playable characters alien race, the Hearthians.

Hearthian Introduction

The alien race known as the Hearthians are an amphibious race with four eyes, little sense of self preservation, and great curiosity for the outside world. Their home planet is Timber Hearth, which was discussed in a previous update[www.mobiusdigitalgames.com]. On their redwoods-inspired home planet, the Hearthians work together through to reach a greater understanding of the solar system they live in.

Porphy, a Hearthian who brews sap wine.

Hearthian culture was inspired by the unusual mix of Apollo-era NASA with backpacking and camping at a national park. Sit out on the porch at sunset and roast marshmallows while you watch your neighbor test out their new model rocket thrusters. Because Timber Hearth has geysers powerful enough to send things into orbit, early Hearthians learned through trial and error how to launch things into space, and it wasn’t long before they started to build ships to explore their tiny solar system.

Marl is more than up to the task of cutting all the lumber required for any new projects.

The Hearthian space program, Outer Wilds Ventures, was founded by Hornfels, Gossan, Slate, and Feldspar. During its early years, Outer Wilds Ventures collected objects of interest (often Nomai in origin) and brought them back home, further enriching the culture and technology of the Hearthians. Many of these technologies have been used to enhance Hearthian exploration technology, granting systems such as artificial gravity or the ability to remotely retrieve a scout with warp technology.

The observatory’s lower floor functions as a museum of curiosities brought back from other locations in the solar system.

As the latest Hearthian traveler, you are the first to be equipped with a tool that will allow you to translate Nomai text - the first of its kind. You and your friend Hal developed this technology to gain a greater understanding of the ancient mysteries that lie dormant in the solar system.

The upper level of the observatory is where Hornfels studies the stars.

Before you can take off on launch day, however, you need to grab the launch codes from Hornfels up at the observatory, so make sure to say your goodbyes to the other villagers as you make your way up. You can play with Mica’s model rocket, hear about the other travelers from Gneiss, or play hide and seek with Tephra and Galena. Make sure to stop by your old flight coach, Gossan, for a refresher on your zero-g training, and check out the nearby scout launcher to get a feel for the planet outside of your home crater. Once you’re ready, grab the launch codes and go explore the Outer Wilds!

The Village Crater: the Observatory at the left and Launch Tower on the right.

That’s the end of this update!

Cheers,

Mobius

(this is a crosspost[www.mobiusdigitalgames.com])

Hello everyone!

We’re making our way to Brittle Hollow in this week’s developer update.


Our writer Kelsey Beachum will be presenting a talk at Meaningful Play this year, October 11 - 13th. This talk will address the challenges of writing for an open-world game and in telling a linear story through a nonlinear delivery. This would be an excellent talk to listen to for those who are interested in writing for video games!

Details about the event can be found here[meaningfulplay.msu.edu].

​
Brittle Hollow is one of the most alien locations in Outer Wilds. From the outside, it appears to be a rocky planet with glacial poles, orbited by a volcanic moon known as Hollow’s Lantern.

The fragile geode, Brittle Hollow.

As time passes, however, it is revealed to be a planet-sized geode that crumbles to pieces as it is bombarded by meteors ejected from its moon. When a chunk of the planet’s crust takes enough damage, it falls into a black hole at the planet’s core. The interior of the crust is covered in striking crystal formations and a variety of Nomai structures.

Most of Brittle Hollow’s fragments destroyed.

Brittle Hollow’s geode crust is made almost entirely from an extensive rock kit. The rock kit is composed of seven different sets, each defined by its size, and within each set there are around eight variations of the rocks, totaling over 50 pieces. All of these pieces add up to a highly adaptable kit that works to support the hand crafted level design.

Top and bottom of one of Brittle Hollow’s fragments.

The crystalline portion of the crust uses the same custom BRDF shader we talked about in our previous update, which allows us to give it a unique lighting model that appears to refract and scatter light in unusual ways.

​Under the crust of Brittle Hollow.

Other than the modular rock kit that is unique to Brittle Hollow, this planet’s poles are capped with snow. The glacial poles also contain many modular ice chunks, combined with a lot of custom work to carve out their interiors. Using Brittle Hollow’s unique rock and ice kits the team was able to support the complex nature of the planet’s level design.
​

Just another reminder that Outer Wilds will be at PAX West! More details in the coming weeks!
​
PAX West is August 31st through till September 3rd 2018 in Seattle, WA.


Join us in another two weeks for another development update. Have a great weekend everyone!

Cheers,

Mobius

(this is a crosspost[www.mobiusdigitalgames.com] from the Mobius website)

Hello everyone!

Before we get into our development update, we’d like to recap our E3 experience.

E3 Recap

We won one of the Rock Paper Shotgun’s Editors Choice Award 2018 and received two nominations from Game Informer for Best in Show 2018 and PC Gamer for Best of E3 2018.

Thank you to all of you who made it out to E3 and for all the enthusiastic responses to everything we show!

Before our Twitch segment at E3.

For those curious, here are links the various articles that mention Outer Wilds from E3:

Outer Wilds Gameplay Demo - E3 Live 2018
Top Ten of E3: Rock Paper Shotgun
Outer Wilds: Rock Paper Shotgun Article
The Best Indie Games of E3: Game Informer[www.gameinformer.com]
10 Best Games of E3: Paste[www.pastemagazine.com]
Top Ten Games of E3: Arstechnica[arstechnica.com]

What is the Actual Release Date?

While we haven’t announced a specific day or month yet, we will definitely be releasing Outer Wilds in 2018. The crazy date listed on the Xbox One store was the result of placeholder shenanigans. Let us reassure you that you won’t need to employ the services of a cryostasis lab to get your hands on a copy of Outer Wilds.

Giant’s Deep: Visual Effects (VFX)

From the outset we knew Giant’s Deep would be our most visual effects (VFX) heavy planet. As a gas giant with an ocean that is dotted with tornadoes that send islands flying, Giant’s Deep was our testing ground for developing and refining many of the VFX techniques that we use throughout the game.

The first and largest feature of Giant’s Deep is its various layers of atmosphere. At its outermost layer, Giant’s Deep uses the same atmosphere shader as Timber Hearth, with different settings to reflect its non-breathable atmosphere. Below that is a thick swirling layer of clouds, created with multiple overlapping textures to create the churning effect, with special rotating spiral caps on the poles. To add to the stormy nature of the planet, we created a dynamic heat lightning generator that spawns randomized chains of lights inside the cloud layer. This was made translucent so that the lightning shows up brighter in the areas where the clouds are thinnest.

Lightning arcs through the clouds of Giant’s Deep.

Dotted across the surface of the ocean are the wandering tornadoes that form Giant’s Deeps’ complex physics system. As the tornadoes wander, they will toss islands (or the player) into orbit, where they will float in Zero G before plummeting back down through the clouds. It was important for us that these tornadoes all look unique, so we created a system of joints for each tornado that each move in randomized circular patterns, much like a sand pendulum. We also created volumes at the base of each tornado that modify the height map of the ocean so that the water is pulled visually into the cyclones.

A field of wandering tornadoes.

In addition to the massive structural elements like the clouds, ocean and cyclones, there are a number of other effects that help to sell the physical nature of the stormy surface. There is a rain system that dots the player’s helmet visor with refractive water droplets and streams that respond differently based on whether you look up at the sky, drop your head down, or dunk under water. There are leaves fluttering on the wind that intensify when a tornado is near. Finally, we created massive, complex splash meshes so that when an island crashes from space we have an appropriately large scale effect to signal the impact.

An island dropped into the sea of Giant’s Deep.

The underwater layer of Giant’s Deep also contains a variety of challenging visual effects problems, but those secrets must remain hidden until you explore them for yourself!

That’s the End of This Update

Join us in another two weeks for another development update. Have a great weekend everyone!

Cheers,

Mobius