Subverse News

Dear Subverse Players,

This is Tibor again. We will keep updating you about the development of Subverse in this Dev Diary, but before we get to that part - please allow me to reflect upon my actions in the last few weeks.

Please accept my sincere apology for the poor communication that I have been putting forward lately. My uncareful messages offended many players. I am very sorry for offending anyone – that was not my intention. Also, the way I handled certain topics in the public domain created stress for the team. The last thing we need to do is distract our exceptionally talented, creative team from their work. As a consequence, and to take responsibility for my actions, I am stepping back from leading our software development. Do not worry, the game is in very good hands, with other senior team members filling my shoes, as we head into the next phase of development.

On a personal note, I would also like to thank all who supported me, sent me such kind messages, encouraged me on Steam, YouTube, on other various forums and in personal messages. That means a lot to me, and I am grateful for your kindness and support.

With that, please let me introduce our new communication expert - Till Eulenspiegel. Till has extensive experience in dealing with complex matters in a simple way. He is a proven problem solver. Since dealing with intimate topics is one of Till’s greatest attributes, we feel he is a good fit for a porn parody game like Subverse.

The floor is yours Till!
[hr][/hr]
[h3]Till Eulenspiegel - New Community Spokesperson[/h3]
To all of my new friends and fellow perverts around the globe, I wish to say Hello!!

You may call me Till, and I have been tasked by the management of StudioFOW with game production communications from here on out. I will be bringing you all sorts of exciting, spicy, and even sometimes slightly sticky news from the moist and hot center of the dev pit in which our monumental space fuck epic is conceived.

Today I bring you a new Dev Diary format for your enjoyment - you will be hearing directly from our beloved and mostly stable (mostly) team members, that are working hard on the next block of content, as they review their recent tasks and accomplishments that will soon all merge together to make our sexy kitty release something that is worthy of your fappage.



[h3]Moneyshot[/h3]
God kväll! As one of the senior animators at the studio, it’s my duty to use my grand wizard IK/FK rig magic to bring the waifus to life. While anyone can fill their beautifully tight orifices with monster dongs exceeding a meter in length - the important thing is to get it done with high quality befitting the studio and make their pleasure match their personalities.

Here’s a preview of the current PANDORA animation I’m working on. I’m proud to report that I spent hours today fondling the bones of this beast’s nutsack in order to achieve the “thwapping” glory for which I am known.



Although sometimes rather than hand-animate, we do rely on physics inside UE4 for the most critical of character animation, like making sure Erark’s model holds up in the wind:




[h3]Manski[/h3]
Speaking of the duties of a senior animator and bringing our characters to life, I have recently been working with Moneyshot on Taron’s idles that will be used in DIS (our Dialogue Input System). Since these idles will be used throughout the game in many story sequences, we want to make sure Taron’s sassy yet timid cat girl personality shines through.

Here’s a nice lineup of her poses for you to enjoy:



And here’s an example of what happens when you encounter bugs during this process:




[h3]Yagskie[/h3]
Magandang araw! Living my life like a middle-aged single dog hikkikomori gives me the time I need to dedicate to important block objectives, like creating Taron’s recruitment animation. Here you can see her, as the Captain says, “taking a rocket ride to jizz city” in his quarters.




[h3]Mendez[/h3]
Currently, I am taking care of an important part of bringing more animations to PANDORA, which is called “retargeting.” This is where we take popular animations already available for other waifus and apply them to new ones. As you can see, DEMI is totally thrilled about it!




[h3]Massimo Decimo Meridio[/h3]
I’ve also been working on a retarget of a popular animation we brought out in the last block.




[h3]Brunka[/h3]
Let’s play a game called, “What’s in Lily’s mouth?” Tune in next block to see!




[h3]Attila von Fock[/h3]
Two aliens walk into a bar. They see an android with 27 different suction settings in her holes. They are happy. Thank you.





[h3]Hungry JJ[/h3]
Although I’m our resident SHMUP expert, I’m also responsible for many of the less action-centric tasks that need to be done from block to block. For example, right now I’m getting one of the most important parts of the game assembled for our next release, which is what we call the “skeleton” of the block.

This is the framework upon which everything else stands - making sure the plot sequences and their subsequent content unlocks fire in the correct order, adding new characters, new planets, etc. It’s a lot of work, but extremely necessary to make Subverse work.


[h3]Professor BANG[/h3]
As you’ve seen in other Dev Diaries, I am the one that does the majority of the animation for our grid combat models (like our good friend William Dildofingers).



This block is no exception, and I recently wrapped production on our new friends in the Imperium faction. Making the War Golem fall to pieces was very entertaining.

Now I'm finishing up Taron. Since her combat archetype is one of a thief/acrobat, she is entertaining to animate, because I can always slip in a bit of spinning and free-falling into her moveset. You'll see her jumping up and down and clawing her way through the enemies. Her tail and breasts are physically active, and her hair can move in the wind, but of course the most important thing is that she is a good addition to our team.




[h3]Mrs. Mankrik[/h3]
One of my primary tasks is getting all of the new character models set up in DIS. The process requires the installation of lookat assets and facial morphs so the characters can express themselves, along with providing animation blending for the primary characters. This allows their various poses to transition smoothly, which is necessary for making plot sequences flow well - like when you meet the lead singer of Chuttphallica.



After all, if they aren’t set up correctly, embarrassing mishaps like this can occur…




[h3]Timmeh[/h3]
Grid combat has been at the top of my list lately, and programming as well as balancing the Imperium units went well. Now I’m working on a new manticore that doesn’t exactly “horse around” when it comes to his role as an anti-ranged tank.




[h3]HentaiKouhai[/h3]
I can’t talk about my recent tasks too much without spoiling a major upcoming boss fight, but I can reveal two things:

1. It’s unlike anything we’ve done in the game so far, and it’s challenging and fun
   
2. Mark-17 Pussy Pummeler
   

[h3]WTX[/h3]
Right now I’m completing some new grid combat maps as well as completing an upgrade pass on our old ones. Other than gameplay maps, I’m responsible for creating many of the cinematic sets you see throughout the game. I recently created one for the Imperium facility you will raid with Taron.




[h3]Portsman[/h3]
When I’m not busy maintaining the models or creating new ones for things like side quests, I make sexy bikinis for the waifus to be used with the upcoming outfit system. My job is pretty awesome.




[h3]ErinTheSketchy[/h3]
Right now I’m going down the list of required assets for this block, such as the new character ability icons. I’m also upgrading our old graphic assets that need a little love, such as the end of mission rank stars that will be more prominent now that replayable missions will be added to the game.



[hr][/hr]

…and that’s all for this entry, my new friends!

I look forward to bringing you more Subverse news and titty screenshots in the near future.

Bis bald,
Till Eulenspiegel

Dear Subverse Players!

For this dev diary we wanted to talk about some features of the next block of content.

[h3]TARON[/h3]

As previously announced, this block will be the debut of Taron! Here are some spicy preview pics to introduce Taron.







[h3]DEVA[/h3]

Taron's content block has several new and exciting features, but the one we're most excited about is a closely guarded secret since the start of development – the DEVA system!

DEVA transforms your waifus into all-new sinfully sexy and monstrous incarnations of their original designs, giving them access to powerful abilities that will rain only the sexiest and most terrifying of tentacled destruction down upon your enemies.

We'll be providing a thorough overview of the mechanics in a later post, but we welcome you to enjoy this teaser now.





[h3]THE IMPERIUM ARRIVES[/h3]

You will also be introduced to a new faction that has never been seen before, even in the closed beta – THE IMPERIUM.

That's right – you'll finally be throwing down with the intergalactic government's forces in the next update. We hope you're ready, because they will definitely challenge your unit positioning.

We've tried to give each faction featured in Subverse their own identity, like with the Fuccbotts and their self-destruction, the Kloi with their backstabbing, and now the Imperium has something you haven't faced thus far – strong AOE tactics and zoning.

The Imperium units excel at dealing damage to multiple targets at once, meaning the best way to fight them is to keep your units spread out and go for high-payoff directional damage attacks. Their damage is tuned to accommodate for this, but misplaying too often will certainly spell doom for your units.
Here's an overview of the roster:

Conscript



These guys are pseudo-artillery units that bombard you from across the map. Getting caught in the centre of their blasts will deal full damage, and targets outside the main tile will take reduced damage. Make sure you take them out before they get access to their ultimate, which will absolutely nuke half the map.

Lancer



Countering these unique DPS units will require you to not only spread out your units, but also avoid creating straight lines. They can launch their projectiles through the primary enemy and all the way across the rest of the map, dealing secondary damage to anyone caught in their path.

War Golem





One of the most unique units in the game, War Golems perfectly compliment the Imperium's zoning strategy by moving very, very slowly but dealing heavy damage when they catch your units. Lucky for you they also damage themselves when they attack, so their time is limited even if you choose not to focus them down. However, waiting too long will give them access to an ultimate attack that self-destructs and guarantees damage on all of your units.

Shocktrooper



The assassins of the Imperium, these guys can shred your units if you allow them to attack the same character multiple times. A successful attack will mark an enemy, and a second one will detonate that mark and deal additional damage. Make sure you don't give them that opportunity and take them out fast!

Lady of the Veil



The holiest of the holy, the “captain” unit of the Imperium brings a style to Subverse not seen in an enemy yet. She's a support unit that can heal her allies, but she can also deal damage yours at the same time. It is critical that you don't allow her to ult, or she will reset the damage you've done to her HP. Remember – always focus on the healer!

We can also share a few new Grid Combat maps:















[h3]SPACE COMBAT[/h3]

When it comes to unique mechanics, Taron's got a SHMUP mission for you like nothing else in the game. It's a true stealth mission deep into the heart of an Imperium stronghold where you'll go on a quest to retrieve her favorite toy.

Here are some preview pics of the environment:










We'll be back soon with more information on development, including some BTS content and direct reports from our programming and animation team!

Thanks for your support! Take care and stay safe!

Regards,
Tibor

Dear Chinese players, especially those on the Mainland China!

Ever since the start of Subverse’s development, there has been a constant request from a very special segment of our fan base that can be seen in response to nearly every post of communication from our team, and across all platforms:

“We need Chinese!”

I am writing today to genuinely express to all of our dear Chinese users: you are very, very important for us. We want to make all of you happy.

As there is still an ongoing dialogue between users regarding the Chinese localization, we feel it is important to clarify further this topic. Hopefully this post will create a consensus or at least provide more understanding of where we are with Chinese localization.

In order to explain the situation, I would like to highlight some recent feedback posts that show the different perspectives of this debate:

erulisse:
As long as it comes from the Republic of China and not the PRC, mainland China has a strict policy even on exposing skin not to mention nudity and porn in games. So as long as it's traditional chinese it's ok to spend resources on...

This leads to the legality of the subject. Since adult content is illegal in Mainland China, our approach with regards to localization is in line with what erulisse says: we identified that since the adult content is illegal in Mainland China and we should/must do the localization in Traditional Chinese (at least in step one and until adult content is not prohibited in Mainland China).

We hear your requests of "We need Chinese!" loud and clear, but dear Mainland China users, please understand - since adult content is illegal in your country, we ask that you let us handle this the way that we feel is the most optimal for Subverse and does not expose us and the whole project into trouble. The last thing any of us want is to accidentally jeopardise the entire project with a misguided localisation attempt, meaning that no Chinese users get the game. We are going to be careful, to ensure that users from all Chinese territories have methods of playing the game.

The current political landscape in Mainland China where adult content is illegal is difficult to navigate. We must handle your requests carefully, and in a way that does not breach any law of the PRC.

SATSUKI:
go check the data,how much percent of donation and pre-order are contributed by chinese?then you wont talk like this(also,they know in which market sells better ,more than you do,lol)

Regarding SATSUKI's remark - it is actually not so clear from where the traffic and Chinese users are coming.

It is important to state that we 100% acknowledge that there are lots of Chinese users and we are of course massively grateful for their support.

However, where the base of our Chinese users actually are coming from is quite important in terms of the localization approach. Based on the statistics and data we have available, we can see that Chinese users are not coming from the PRC. In fact, zero traffic is coming from the PRC (Mainland China). That is not a surprise as adult content is illegal in the PRC.

We can see some traffic from Hong Kong and Taiwan. Based on the traffic data it seems to us that most non-English speaking Chinese users purchase the game from Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Please understand that since we cannot market the software in Mainland China, we cannot sell the game in Mainland China and we cannot do the localization in Simplified Chinese. Moreover, since this is a complex and massive development task, this cannot be the absolute priority for the project. Please be patient and allow us the time necessary to work on the English content of the game and gradually we will be able to fulfil your request to play Subverse in Chinese.

We would like to ask you all who are waiting for the Chinese localization, please support us by upvoting the game. A more popular game has a better chance to acquire the necessary resources and connections needed to create localizations quicker and with better quality.

Thank you very much for your support.

Regards,
Tibor
Head of Development

Dear Subverse Players!

This is Tibor again. The better communicators are busy with the development, dealing with family problems, sorting out personal matters, etc. so I am still posting here until some English speakers will be available to take this over from me.

It feels like a great community is forming around the game. That community is the glue that holds this project together and inspires the team to make Subverse the best game it can possibly be.

We know that over the past months our communication has been poor, so let me say that we here at the studio remain committed to our main goals:

1. To support freedom of expression
   
2. Pushing the boundaries for adult gaming in the mainstream.
   

It feels good to be part of this community and thank you all so much for being here, both from day one and those of you still joining us throughout early access!

Also, my apologies in advance for this long post, but we would like to address as many questions in the Q & A session as is feasible and practical.

I can assure you we read all the posts. We have reviewed the questions on all platforms including, Steam, GOG, our blog site, Discord, etc. We are aware of each and every question, request, and suggestion. To make this Q & A more efficient and informative we categorized the questions. Instead of answering each question individually, you should find the answers to your questions under some of the categories. Those questions which are not addressed are still evaluated by the team. That means we need to verify some technological aspects of the matter and do some R & D before we answer the question. This is still an evolving project and content is subject to change naturally.


Pandora improvements

We keep evaluating how to make Pandora better. We plan in the final, 1.0 release the following new systems, improvements, and features will be included:

1. Outfit systems.
   
2. More variants in sounds during the scenes.
   
3. Environment improvements to reflect the actual, current nebula.
   
4. Fluid system improvements (these are mostly related to the internal workflow, but the workflow improvements will result in a better end-product).
   

Apart from these, there will be new scenes such as the space whale scenes added (this is a Kickstarter pledge).


File size

The increasing size of the software application was raised by several users. We are looking into the issue by evaluating different video codec solutions and optimizing the application in all areas. The aim is to keep the final, 1.0 version at a manageable size.

“Gif Loops”

We have been receiving comments and criticism about the “Gif Loops''. Please note, there are no Gif Loops in this game. All animations in Pandora are running in real time utilizing Unreal Engine. We have a very specific vision for the game, one that is shaped by the technical and resource realities of the project. These short animations are not the result of purely artistic decisions, but it is a software development necessity. Please understand, we are not a AAA studio that employs 80 animators and we simply do not have the resources to make each of these short animations a 10-minute movie. Having said this, since these are real time animations, we can add interactive elements on these items. We are looking into how to improve these shorter animations. There will be longer pre-rendered contents at the end of each devotion quest as part of our promised Kickstarter rewards.


Free camera control

To address this point will require a relatively exhaustive explanation. Our original plan was to deliver the animations in a true StudioFOW manner, which is a forced camera perspective style. The game design philosophy and artistic aim was from the beginning to continue this forced camera perspective driven movie-making in Pandora. We thought the artists – who brought joy to millions of users via the StudioFOW movies – should focus on their strengths and carry out their creative vision, this requires a largely fixed camera. So that is our style. That is the forced camera perspective.

The StudioFOW artistic philosophy has always been one reliant on forced perspective - all of FOW movies were highly successful using this style of animation and that style was brought over to the current Pandora system. To make a real-time sex animation suitable for free camera, we would have to change the style entirely by trying to make it look equally as good from every single possible angle. Not only is this a huge time-sink for a tiny animation team, but they would also have to gimp the animation in the process. The Illusion games are a great example of this. To facilitate the 360 cameras in Illusion games, their animation quality takes a massive nosedive. It is like a shackle; the poses and creativity have to take a backseat to rudimentary functionality. StudioFOW was never about that. We want the viewers to experience the best angle possible for a specific animation. Our strengths are in direction and expressiveness, we know this and have designed the game to support it.

Still, all feedback is very important for us. Therefore, we listened and started to introduce some camera controls. By listening to these requests, we understood that a game software application is different from a movie. Interaction with the camera could make the gaming experience more enjoyable. So now there are some camera controls, and we keep fine tuning, and if it is possible to improve it from a usability standpoint.

As mentioned before, if we would have gone with the free-cam route at the start we would have had to devote significantly more time to each animation, to try and make it look passable from every single angle. Instead of having 80+ scenes currently in the game, there would be around 20, at best. That's how big a difference trying to make a free-cam work in a real time environment would entail. It would also create a host of other problems, such as the fluids not working properly. With static 3D meshes, a free-cam is great, but when you're trying to maintain a high level of quality in animation, the free camera quickly becomes a huge time-sink. We simply don't have the resources to make every single Pandora scene compatible with a free cam. We would literally have to quadruple our animation team, and currently we don't have the resources for this. Otherwise, there is the Gallery which does have an unlocked camera.


“We Need Chinese”

One of the most frequent requests from our Chinese community members is: “We need Chinese”.
As I explained in a previous Dev diary, I can confirm that we are teaming up with one of the most influential and respected teams in game localization to localize the game for the Chinese market. This is a massive work item and is by its nature collaborative, as such we do not have a concrete time frame for delivery.
We have heard the many, many requests, but please note, to implement such a massive localization is simply a question of resources. Spamming negative comments or downvoting the game in order to express your disappointment about the lack of Chinese localisation, actually hurts the game, making it harder to get these much requested features implemented. Therefore, we would like to ask you all who are waiting for the Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Spanish, French, etc. localization, please support us by upvoting the game. A more popular game has a better chance to acquire the necessary resources and connections needed to create localizations quicker and with better quality.


Contextual sex scenes

This is most likely the single most demanded feature, so we are taking it very seriously.

One thing we want to mention is that the waifu’s devotion quests that are in development are designed from the ground up to feature exactly this kind of content - they will each feature a unique sex scene that is entirely contextual and entirely fantastic. The scripting and voice acting of this module has been already completed. We will start including this feature in the game around v. 0.5-0.6 releases. We feel this will be a really interesting addition.

In addition to that, we are in the R & D phase to provide other solutions for this request. To give a few hints, the plan is to implement contextual interactions leading into romantic and sex scenes. This development will take time since implementation will require expanding the code and the technology utilized during NSFW encounters and additional voice acting for a start. If we may ask, please be patient. We are still in early access and these solutions should be part of 1.0.


Subtitles

I am happy to confirm that subtitles will be implemented for cinematics.


Sex with Blythe

We have all seen the requests. I am sorry, but to talk about this more would be a spoiler. It seems I just gave a spoiler…better if I stop talking about this as I am already on very thin ice, and the team will liquidate me.


Difficulty of Space Combat

There are many users expressing views that the Space Combat is too difficult and there are too many waves. At the same time at least that many users say, the Space Combat is very easy, it is not challenging enough. We realise, we are unable to make this game module in a way that suits everyone. To solve this issue, we are looking into introducing difficulty levels. This will be a configuration value that users can adjust and define. The implementation is in early R & D, but surely will be included in the final 1.0 version, most likely a lot earlier. It’s being worked on.


Replayable missions

As I confirmed earlier this will be implemented soon. Currently we are working on the final touches and testing it. Once it is included in the next patch, we will gather users’ feedback and keep improving this much requested functionality.


Interaction with the galaxy and navigation

Many users suggested improving the travel and navigation via the various nebulas of Subverse by introducing mouse over control to highlight the objects that have been already explored. That makes sense, and I can confirm we are going to implement this.


UI usability and Look & Feel improvements

We hear your criticism about the UI. We will gradually be improving it. The good news is, a talented graphic designer colleague has just joined the team. Now we have a better chance to implement a stunning UI (no pressure then to our new colleague 😊).


As I mentioned, there are many questions that we need to evaluate a bit further, and we will address those in future Q & A sessions. We are discussing internally the exact scheduling but expect something like this (hopefully not as long!) in between each content block.

Thank you very much in advance for your continued support. Thanks for the upvotes and positive comments! Each upvote and positive comment means a lot to the team. Receiving the upvotes also helps the project overall. If you feel the development team deserves the upvote and positive comments, we humbly ask please continue to leave those comments and give Subverse your upvote.

All of you please take care. Please try to stay safe, look after each other and see you all again by the 17th November when we publish a detailed DEV Diary, with our first Behind the Scenes content.

Regards,
Tibor

Dear Subverse Users,

This is Tibor again to give you some updates about what is happening with Subverse.

I am reporting to you all that the team is focusing on the development of an upcoming patch as well as on the next block.

It is a good news for all Subverse fans that the game was Top 1 for more than a week on the GOG platform. We are proud that with your support an adult game could climb to the Top 1 spot both on Steam and GOG. That is a win for freedom of expression at large, hopefully together with you we can continue to push the envelope for adult games in the mainstream. A goal we can only aspire to thanks to your amazing support of this project.

With regards to the patch, we will fix minor issues and my aim is to finally introduce mission replayability in this patch. Let see how it goes in terms of development time, but the plan is to roll that patch out soon as it is stable, within the next 2 weeks. We know that replayability has been one of the most requested features since our initial launch into early access. Following the implementation of the replayable mission all players will be able to get that precious Gold level.

As for the next block: Taron is set to take centre stage! You can see some info about Taron at https://studiofow.com/subverse/taron/ . As for the timeframe of this next block, we will do everything we can to release it within 3 months, ideally earlier. We will give an exact date closer to launch and will be more communicative than we were with the last release.

Apart from progressing with the software development, we are busy on going through on the comments, suggestions, feedbacks and criticisms, posted on the Steam reviews & forums sections, at GOG and elsewhere on the Internet. By gathering your feedback we really want to understand how you feel about the game and what improvements you all want to see.

In the next few days we will publish a comprehensive Q & A here and at our blog site. We will address camera control, Pandora revamp, the state of the roadmap, questions about gameplay, the timeframe to get to 0.9 and then 1.0, and many-many other questions. Please post your questions, suggestions, criticism in the comments below this update and we will answer as much as is feasible. We will publish this Q & A in the next few days, by the 7th of November.

Then after the Q & A post, so in the following dev diary about 2 weeks later we will bring you some behind of scenes content to give you more idea how the team try to transform the ideas into a software applications.

In the meantime, please take care of yourself, stay safe and as always, thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your continued support. I genuinely believe that with your wonderful support we can make Subverse the best game it can possibly be.

Best regards,
Tibor
Head of Software Development, CTO, confused HR officer (CHRO), Ron Jeremy Educated Porn Content Reviewer (RJEPCR), temporary communication expert, cleaner of the 9 sq. meters Subverse small office, company director, gardener of the plants of the Subverse small office (3 items to garden), retirement home candidate, etc.