subROV News

Hello subROVers - there's a new fish in town!


[h3]What's New[/h3]

This update adds the tripod fish to the game, in the dive sites where there's enough depth for it to show up (currently: barrels, humboldt, and tokelau).
The tripod fish is a very interesting denizen of the deep. It most characteristic feature is the way in which it stays still against the current, standing on the elongated tips of its pelvic and tail fins, while the pectoral fins are projected upwards, or towards the front, serving as antennae. When swimming, it can either retain this shape, or turn the elongations to the back to acquire a more "traditional" shape.
We've represented all these traits in the game, which has been a bit of a challenge since they're (so far) unique to this fish, but we're happy with the results, and we hope you'll enjoy them, too.

[h3]Moving Forward[/h3]

On the creatures front, we are now working on another iconic fish, the Chaunacops. It is also quite unique, but we believe we've got all the technical challenges already solved precisely thanks to the work we've done on the tripod fish.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3036664212
On the sites/wrecks front, we're still working on the WWII shipwreck. Initially we had planned to focus on the exterior, but we're now modelling several exposed inner spaces using blueprints for reference.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3022593932

Happy subROVving! 😁

[h3]Full Log[/h3]

New Features/Improvements:

• Dives: Added the Tripod Fish to the Barrels, Humboldt, and Tokelau Dives.
  

Bug Fixes:

• Dives: Fish sometimes get stuck in a circle motion pointing towards the seafloor.
  

[h3]Get In Touch[/h3]

Here's a list of the many ways in which you can reach us:

• From the game -press F8
  
• Through the forum right here on Steam
  
• Through our Discord Server,
  
• Through Twitter,
  
• Through mastodon,
  
• By email (info 'at' sqr3lab.com)
  

[h3]Support subROV[/h3]

If you enjoy subROV and would like to support us, please leave us a review. It helps a lot!

Hello subROVers!

A few days ago subROV received a compatibility test review for the Steam Deck, with a result of Playable.
This update addresses the issues preventing the game from getting a Recommended status:

• We've replaced the "F8" text in the main menu Feedback button with a suitable icon.
  
• We've replaced the "Gameplay" and "Controls" icons in the Settings menu.
  
• When sending feedback from the Deck, selecting the text window automatically opens an on-screen keyboard.
  
• The Accessibility option to use a Bigger Font in the Dive Chat is now active by default for Deck players.
  

We hope these changes will help us improve the game's review, and the overall experience for Steam Deck users.

Happy SubROVing! 😄

PS. A Playable result is already great news!

This is a small update that fixes two bugs:

• (feedback)General: Game unplayable when updating from old demo versions (due to incompatibilities between versions, the game will reset the save file; we apologize for the inconvenience).
  
• (feedback)General: Characters replaced by a square in computers with system language set to Turkish.
  

Both bugs were first reported through the internal feedback system anonymously, so, whomever you are -thank you!
(PS. if you include your email when you send feedback, we'll follow up).

Hello subROVers! We've updated the game from 0.7.31 to 0.7.35. Let's take a look!



[h3]New Players - Read this[/h3]
Update: July 3rd
We've received a few reports from players that get stuck in the main menu with a dive called "ghost of isakov" that they can't start. In all the cases we could troubleshoot, these are players who downloaded the demo last year and bought the game just now.
If this is your case, we recommend uninstalling the demo and all related files, then restarting the game, or resetting the game (in settings/gameplay). The demo is no longer supported, nor there will be a new demo in the future, so this is the safest way to proceed. (We'll still see if we can do something about it).
If you're stuck in the main menu and don't have the demo installed, please send us an email to info@sqr3lab, and we'll do out best to help.

[h3]What's New[/h3]

This update adds together four updates that we had already uploaded individually to the Beta branch since April. We posted detailed news pieces for every one of these updates when we released them in Beta, so now we'll make a brief recap for each, with links on the version numbers taking you to the individual news items:

• In 0.7.32 we revised the setup of all the seafloor-related creatures. We also added a new cusk eel custom made from NOAA footage.
  

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2954979082

• In 0.7.33 we added another new creature, the Big Fin Squid. We took references from a recent sighting by Schmidt Ocean, and consulted with experts to make what's arguably the most accurate model of this species to date.
  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYyKuYRTd78

• In 0.7.34 we made a general revision of the dives available, improving their looks and increasing significantly the number of creatures and items on the seafloor.
  

• In 0.7.35 we added a new tool, SOLARIS, built after the real counterpart shown in a recent cruise by Schmidt Ocean, with references and advice provided by the scientists who designed it.
  

We'd like to make a point that we brought the Magnapinna and SOLARIS to the game (in beta) within weeks of them appearing in livestreams. There is an element of opportunity/serendipity that we can't deny, and there are risks involved that we can't always predict (e.g. the time it took to get final approval for SOLARIS), but this approach stresses our commitment to try to bring to the game advanced tools and creatures barely known to science whenever possible.

IMPORTANT - SOLARIS appears in the Tokelau dive, which we've consequently revised. Updating the game to this version should reset the Tokelau dive's objectives and nothing else. We've tested this against profiles from several versions past, but if you see anything strange after the update, please let us know.

[h3]Moving Forward[/h3]

In light of recent events - A Titanic dive has always been in the cards for this game, and internally we had it tentatively planned towards the end of the year. Now, since this is a game of ROV exploration, and ROVs have been at the center of the search and recovery of TItan, we entertained the idea of quickly putting together a "basic" Titanic dive to illustrate, to the extent that this game is capable of, how the search could proceed.
This said, after giving it much thought and consulting with the community in Discord, we've decided not to release any Titanic-related dives now, though we'll keep the original plan to make a Titanic dive around the fall-winter, if possible and non-controversial.

The next big planned milestone, then, is bringing the wreck of the USS Hoel to the game, which we've been teasing for a while, as we indeed started work on it some time ago. Several players suggested making a dive around a WWII wreck when we discussed the Titanic, so we think it's appropriate to do so -we hope that you'll look forward to exploring our biggest wreck yet.



Happy subROVving! (or is it subROVing?) 😁

[h3]Get In Touch[/h3]

Here's a list of the many ways in which you can reach us:

• From the game -press F8
  
• Through the forum right here on Steam
  
• Through our Discord Server,
  
• Through Twitter,
  
• Through mastodon,
  
• By email (info 'at' sqr3lab.com)
  

[h3]Support subROV[/h3]

If you enjoy subROV and would like to support us, please leave us a review. It helps a lot!

Hello subROVers - SOLARIS is here!


[h3]What's New[/h3]

SOLARIS is a tool used in last month's Falkor cruise to measure reactive oxygen species (ROS) in corals. ROS are byproducts of biological processes involving oxygen; they are toxic and, in most cases, organisms seek to neutralize them. Their ability to do so is affected by stress, so measuring the ROS a coral emits and comparing it to a baseline gives scientists a way to know how stressed it is. SOLARIS takes these measurements right next to the coral without further stressing it, and when you think how much a coral is disturbed by being brought to a lab on the surface, its advantages become very apparent.

Here's a dive where you can see the real SOLARIS in action (May 4th). Sometimes they talk about the game, like at 00h55m30s and 02h04m22s (long dives!)

https://www.youtube.com/live/l4kI1OaECuc?feature=share&t=3325

SOLARIS appears in the Tokelau Dive, which we've revised with a new flow and objectives. We've also fixed bugs, made a few changes to the ROV's light based on feedback, and improved the internal organization of the save file (the naming convention for dives is more robust now).

IMPORTANT - there's no in-game tutorial for SOLARIS yet, though we've updated the manual with all the relevant information.

ALSO IMPORTANT - Updating to this version should reset the Tokelau dive's objectives and nothing else. We've tested this against profiles from several versions past, but if you see anything strange after the update, please let us know.

[h3]Moving Forward[/h3]

We'll keep 0.7.35 in beta until the end of the week, and then we'll roll it out for everyone. Starting tomorrow, we'll go back to the Hoel, which will be an all-new dive with the biggest wreck we've done yet.

Happy subROVving! 😁

[h3]Full Log[/h3]

New Features/Improvements:

• Dives: Added the SOLARIS tool to the game. Added a milk crate to the Experiments Platform to hold it.
  
• Dives: Revised the Tokelau dive to use SOLARIS.
  
• (feedback) Dives: Increased ROV light angle / reduced ROV white light intensity and increased distance to give a better gradation.
  
• Internal: Improved handling of custom fog.
  
• Internal: Revised save system and profile.
  

Bug Fixes:

• Dives: Sonar dot persists when the parent object is removed.
  
• Dives: Buoy objective marker doesn't disappear after pinging if it had been scanned previously.
  
• Dives: Scanning objects prevents their map icon from appearing.
  

[h3]Get In Touch[/h3]

Here's a list of the many ways in which you can reach us:

• From the game -press F8
  
• Through the forum right here on Steam
  
• Through our Discord Server,
  
• Through Twitter,
  
• Through mastodon,
  
• By email (info 'at' sqr3lab.com)
  

[h3]Support subROV[/h3]

If you enjoy subROV and would like to support us, please leave us a review. It helps a lot!