Gloomwood News

[h3]Hello again good doctors.

Apologies for the lack of announcements over the last few months, but we've been... rather busy.

And today we bring you a full report on progress of Gloomwood's upcoming Underport District.[/h3]



[h3]The Underport will be the largest and most interconnected district you've yet to explore in Gloomwood.

Featuring not only the looping dungeon design Dillon is so fond of, but new and clever ways to approach getting both in and *out* of it.[/h3]

[h3]Bigger than the market.[/h3]


[h3]Spookier than the Tavern.[/h3]


[h3]More verticality than the caves.[/h3]


And in the depths of the Underport you'll finally find the first of the city's seals (to open the Countess' manor) and at the very bottom - A BRAND NEW WEAPON

[h3]The Harpoon Gun.[/h3]
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
As you can see, the Harpoon Gun will allow the doctor to reach new heights before thought impossible, and approach encounters in... interesting new ways.

[h3]But that's not all.[/h3]

We've also been writing and recording new VO from Terri Brosius (The Countess) and Stephan Weyte (The Merchant) to flesh out the story as it progresses...

[h3]We've added rain (with accurate indoor/outdoor soundscapes)[/h3]

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
[h3]And... RAT AI?![/h3]

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
This will prove... useful.
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
[h3]Plus some new routes in The Caves to give the doctor even more options for how to approach his initial escape.[/h3]

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
After The Underport releases (within the next couple of months) we'll be focusing on the Research Update that will allow the doctor to take body parts from enemies back to the lab at the lighthouse in order to study them and gain NEW ABILITIES.

Then we'll be building The Bank level which will introduce a new, more advanced - high security - section of the city - patrolled by The Constables, guarded by Gargoyles... and more...


[h3]We're getting into the real MEAT of the game now, doctors... come prepared.[/h3]

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1150760/Gloomwood/

Stealth-horror immersive sim Gloomwood has development continuing apace, with the latest development preview bringing attention to extremely important—nay, vital—advances in rat-based gaming technology. A couple videos posted by developer Dillon Rogers over the past few weeks shows off some cheese-seeking AI behavior for Gloomwood's rat NPCs, behavior that made its way into the January 30th update...
Read more.

General

• Crouch will now release you from climbable ropes and ladders
  
• AI Lure Behaviour has been improved to be more consistent and capture the target AI's attention more, allowing the player to more easily sneak by
  
• Improved consistency of AI Search Behaviour contact events
  
• Increased player exposure visibility at sprint/holstered speed
  
• Buffet cabinet doors can now be opened
  
• Vanity mirror desk drawers can now be opened
  
• Merchant now sees food items as junk and will no longer buy them
  
• Improved shader variant and process handling for GPU performance
  
• Improved CPU handling for sound propagation, entity components, physics handling, VFX systems, fire propagation, door colliders and global illumination renderers
  
• Improved optimization of Shadow Projectors
  
• Improved material pass handling
  
• Changed splatter particle for food items
  

AI: Rat

• Added initial critter behaviours like Scent Lure, Eat and Attack
  
• Added rat holes to allow rats to navigate around closed doors
  
• Added rat corpse item and pickup
  
• Improved various animations
  
• Improved rat hitboxes and collisions
  

Area: Coastal Fishery

• Changed Mr. Croup's initial safe dial values to prevent accidental input of easter egg code
  

Area: Coastal Caves

• Added a new shack and scaffolding to the main elevator chamber to allow alternative routes around huntsmen
  
• Tweaked huntsmen patrols to make them a bit more exploitable
  

Area: Coastal Cliffside

• Tweaked the cannon instructions to make it clearer where the required items are located
  
• Added additional AI jump spots and navigable areas
  

Area: City Market

• Added an elevator lever to the top of the elevator shaft before the Emerald Eye
  
• Fixed various geometry and clipping issues
  

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue where AI could spot suspicious targets like corpses in the dark from afar
  
• Fixed issue where AI to AI line-of-sight checks would not target the correct position
  
• Fixed issue where climbables would not allow the player to correctly jump off them
  
• Fixed exploit where weapon animations could be cancelled by opening the journal
  
• Fixed issue where framerate would notably drop when speaking to Oliver in the Market
  
• Fixed issue where the player could clip the crush trigger while riding the dumbwaiter in the Market
  
• Fixed handlantern light animation not playing correctly during draw/holster/raise/lower animations
  
• Fixed issue where Flare Gun would not stock correctly in the shop
  
• Fixed outdated save issue where shop item text would not load correctly
  
• Tweaked Huntsmen navigation base offset so they snap better to the ground
  
• Fixed issue where weather effects would not play outside the Slaughtered Goat Tavern
  
• Fixed some texture issues in the Slaughtered Goat Tavern
  
• Fixed issue where pixel gap filler shader wouldn't work correctly
  

Samtsirhc Yrrem! As they say during the festive season in Gloomwood's Mirror Realm. Actually, I imagine they say things like "What was that?" followed by "Argh!" much as they do in regular Gloomwood. What is the Mirror Realm, you ask? Why, it's part of Gloomwood's just arrived Christmas update, which adds bugfixes, new areas, and a whole host of festive doohickies alongside mysterious alternate dimensions...
Read more.

[h2]Ah, good Doctors...

We have a surprise for you this holiday season![/h2]

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
You may now enter THE MIRROR REALM!

Without spoiling too much: let's just say that this realm will allow you to more easily revisit places in Gloomwood that you've been before... and may even open up some new paths!

(Yes this is how we've done fast travel in a game devoid of any sort of in-game menus, HUD or UI)

[h2]But that's not all![/h2]

We've also improved the lightmaps and various weapon/item textures in the game!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
Behold that fine shotgun engraving....

We've also added many new items and treasures to the game. Including lots of new food!

(that you can now gorge upon by simply pressing right click)

And in the spirit of the season - I believe we've truly outdone ourselves with the holiday content. (optional, of course)

Falling snow! Snowballs to throw! Funny little hats for everyone you know!

EVEN KRAMPUS HAS DECIDED TO JOIN IN THE FESTIVITIES!


We've been working hard on Gloomwood since it entered into Early Access a little over a year ago, and we're glad that you seem to appreciate that hard work - as you've now rated Gloomwood as OVERWHELMINGLY POSITIVE on Steam


And we'll continue that hard work into 2024 as we welcome you into The Underport and beyond...

because We Love you and We Hate Menus
[h2]Happy Holidays![/h2]

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1150760/Gloomwood/
https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/37384/ULTRAWOOD/