Steel Century Groove News

[p]The day is finally here. Steel Century Groove is OUT NOW![/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p]I'm so excited for everyone to get the chance to play this game that I've spent years obsessing over. I hope you all enjoy the journey across the Elder States, with all the surprises and battles along the way, and when it's over, I can't wait to see all the ways you push the systems to their limits with your endgame builds![/p][p][/p][p]Thank you all so much for supporting this project from the earliest release of Midnight to now. If you get the time to leave a review, even if you change it later, that makes a huge difference for small indie developers. Reaching 10 reviews as quickly as possible can be make or break for a game like this![/p][p][/p][p] Check out the launch trailer here:[dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p][/p]

[p]Launch day is coming soon (January 28th) and this update is intended to get some last minute testing on the near-final game code. I hope everyone is looking forward to the full release as much as I am![/p][p][/p][p]The biggest new demo features are the additional options (including playing the full song) on rematches, the improved destructibles and crowds, new dance animations, and a new song, No Time by Nurnberg Productions. [/p][p][/p][p]These notes only cover changes to features that affect the demo. Lots more features and improvements are coming exclusively to the full game! [/p][p]Let me know if you run into any issues on the new version. And if something you were hoping for isn't here, don't worry; there will be more updates coming after launch. Either way, I'd love to hear your feedback, which you can leave via the in-game form, the Steam forums, or just as a comment on this post.[/p][p][/p][h3]UI[/h3]

• [p]Added additional options when rematching pilots to allow controlling the battle length and to set the win condition to End of Music, allowing you to play the whole song, similar to what's available in Freeplay mode.[/p]
• [p]The pop up at the end of the demo now contains the game's release date: January 28th 2026![/p]
• [p]Updated dialogue UI animation to be a little more 3D.[/p]
• [p]Added replica Tenzerks to the in-battle menu so you can see their mods/level/moves during a battle.[/p]
• [p]The music selection screen is now sorted by artist name.[/p]
• [p]Added an option for changing difficulty in the options menu when you have a save file loaded. Previously this was only available in the character customization menu.[/p]
• [p]Added new pronoun options for She/They and He/They. This one goes out to all the haters! Keep it up and you never know what pronouns I might add next.[/p]
• [p]Added an on-screen warning UI when you do not have all available mods equipped for your current lead/replica Tenzerks.[/p]
• [p]Increased the size of Acclaim/Damage numbers slightly.[/p]
• [p]Adjusted lead Tenzerk portrait positioning to fit better on the UI where there are many different Tenzerks unlocked.[/p]
• [p]Navigation tweaks for the Tenzerk menu.[/p]
• [p]Added a confirmation to the Return to Main Menu and Fast Travel to Town options.[/p]
• [p]Added extra text that clarifies when music vocals are muted in Streamer Mode.[/p]
• [p]Added a setting to adjust the intensity of screen shake in battle[/p]

[h3]Music[/h3]

• [p]Added a new song for the Bon Donatello boss fight, No Time by Nurnberg Productions. [/p]
• [p]Removed the double time sections from Woven in Dusk and added it as regular non-boss song.[/p]
• [p]Added new vocals for the songs Temptation and Woven in Dusk, now featuring Logan Justine and Jamie Wiltshire respectively. When hiring musicians directly I always include a no-AI clause, and when purchasing the rights to pre-created tracks, I only acquire tracks that are labeled as not having used AI music or vocals. However, I saw some player concern about the vocals on Woven in Dusk and started to have my own concerns about Temptation, so to be absolutely sure, I went ahead and had new vocals recorded for these songs. [/p]
• [p]Added a new victory jingle and sound effect[/p]
• [p]Added new music for the BATTLE TOUR intro[/p]
• [p]Improvements to beat and sustain placements on some songs.[/p]
• [p]Removed the song Eye by Philip Rice. This was taken out as part of adding more original/exclusive songs in the full game and rebalancing the ratio of original/exclusive to Creative Commons songs on the soundtrack. But if you liked this one, it's available here.[/p]
• [p]Improvements to custom music where too many sustains and too many short stems would be generated.[/p]
• [p]Reduced the volume of song previews on the music selection screen.[/p]

[h3]Gameplay[/h3]

• [p]Increased the length of battles across the game, especially in the early-game.[/p]
• [p]Tuning to the XP gain rates of each Tenzerk.[/p]
• [p]Tuning to Acclaim gain and other move numbers across all Tenzerks.[/p]
• [p]In Endless Mode, at high challenge levels, opponent's cooldowns are increased.[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue where damage would crit at a fixed 5%/50% crit rate/crit bonus. Damage now crits using half of your Tenzerk's crit rate/bonus.[/p]
• [p]Adjusted the number of fans and likes gained at each Pilot Level.[/p]
• [p]Added a floating text warning when you trigger a cooldown while affected by the Empix's Long Cooldowns debuff.[/p]
• [p]Adjusted how the Sabotage stat works so that extremely high values will not have as severe an effect or potentially cause opponents to damage themselves.[/p]
• [p]Added an extra room in the Nor Sentryville Museum.[/p]

[h3]Art/Visuals[/h3]

• [p]Improvements to choreography during gameplay sections, allowing for more natural moves while still keeping as much connection as possible between the placement of the notes and the animations chosen.[/p]
• [p]Tenzerk footsteps now leave cracks and jagged rocks on the ground.[/p]
• [p]Added additional foot animations and dance moves.[/p]
• [p]Improvements to visual clarity of Rhymery post photos.[/p]
• [p]Updated lighting of nighttime battles.[/p]
• [p]Reduced the number of trails from the Aedonix's Flourish move to improve visual clarity and performance.[/p]
• [p]Improved/changed some Tenzerk paint sets.[/p]
• [p]Updated museum battle arena fog and lighting.[/p]
• [p]Reduced the dark intensity of the Aedonix's solo effect.[/p]
• [p]Added new VFX for some opponent moves.[/p]
• [p]Added additional destructibles to all battle arenas, particularly new tall destructibles that can be destroyed by arm motions.[/p]
• [p]Powerful Tenzerk moves now create shockwaves that can destroy destructible objects.[/p]
• [p]Improved crowd NPCs so that they can now spawn more consistently and run away during battles.[/p]
• [p]Lighting adjustments across the game.[/p]
• [p]Added an additional eye customization option.[/p]

[h3]Audio[/h3]

• [p]Added additional audio of opponent moves.[/p]
• [p]Fixed missing/incorrect navigation sounds on the Tenzerk menu.[/p]

[h3]Bug Fixes[/h3]

• [p]CPU and GPU performance improvements, especially in heavy battle scenarios.[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue where non-english characters would appear incorrectly when scrolled off screen on the music selection or custom music UI.[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue where the game would not save immediately when confirming a save after manually loading an older save file and then saving.[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue where the mouse cursor could get stuck on screen after playing a battle in Freeplay mode.[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue where the UI cutout effect around the battle cursor could be sized inconsistently.[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue where the Aedonix's grace notes could sometimes appear inconsistently.[/p]
• [p]Fixed a spot where the player could get stuck by the kitchen table in their home.[/p]
• [p]Fixed issues where non-continuous stems could occasionally be generated in battle.[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue where the player response dialogue UI would allow making a choice too early with the gamepad.[/p]
• [p]Fixed issues with opponent pilots who would be framed incorrectly by the black bars when approaching them.[/p]
• [p]Smoothed out the audio when looping a song, and fixed issues where an excessive amount of time with no gameplay could occur after a loop.[/p]
• [p]Factory Worker Sanya now has a proper Rhymery username.[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue where the Empix's chain VFX could disappear when changing battle arenas or disconnect when playing at low framerates.[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue where the Interact UI prompt could get stuck on screen occasionally.[/p]
• [p]Fixed overly bright water in the forest battle arena level at night.[/p]
• [p]Fixe an issue where the transition VFX on a music loop would only play halfway.[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue where the player's Tenzerk could T-pose if affected by a boss Malfunction at the time that the music loops.[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue where the last saved time wouldn't update after a manual save.[/p]
• [p]Fixed clipping issues with the dark background of some popup windows.[/p]
• [p]Fixed issues where the camera could be too slow to catch up to the player while sprinting up stairs.[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue where the arena transition effect could get temporarily stuck on screen if you won or lost a battle while it was active.[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue where certain NPCs, like the player's mom, could appear with different face customizations in different scenes.[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue where the Sentilon's drones did not respect the paints applied to the Sentilon itself.[/p]
• [p]Fixed incorrect UI/VFX animations when switching rapidly between menus.[/p]
• [p]Fixed issues with click sounds that would play excessively.[/p]

[p]Steel Century Groove is releasing in just two weeks, on January 28th! The full game is a huge RPG, many times the size of the demo, featuring all-new Tenzerks, a big world to explore, and ultra-challenging endgame content to keep you busy long after you've finished the story. [/p][p]I've been playing the game non-stop lately and having tons of fun even after hundreds and hundreds of hours. I can't wait for everyone to experience the surprises coming in the story, and then to check out all your broken endgame builds and personal records![/p][p][/p][h3]💃 At launch, Steel Century Groove will cost $17.99 (10% off) 🕺[/h3][p]Make sure to grab the game while it's on sale, before it goes back to the full price of $19.99 without the launch discount.[/p][p][/p][p]Add the game to your wishlist now, so you can get an email as soon as it's available![/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p]And if you haven't played the demo yet, give it a shot, then transfer your saves to the full game when it launches.[/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p]In other news, there should be two more singles from the game releasing on streaming platforms ahead of the launch, Let Me by Arooh (January 16th) and Tearing Me Apart by Weet. (January 22nd)! I'm hoping to also drop a larger album with most of the original battle music around the time of the full game launch. Stay tuned![/p][p][/p][p]If you want to listen to something right away, the first single from the game, Pain by Weet., is available here.[/p]

[p]Thanks so much for playing the Steel Century Groove Demo and leaving your comments, feedback, and reviews! It's all been incredibly helpful and continues to make the game better.[/p][p][/p][p]Starting October 13th, Steel Century Groove will be participating in Steam Next Fest! This update is releasing now to make sure everything is stable and bug-free, but please do come back and play during the festival. It makes a huge difference for indie developers to have more people playing the demo while it's ongoing.[/p][p][/p][p]And there will be plenty to do! This update allows you to load your previously completed demo saves, adds a new Freeplay Mode, and introduces a preview of the endgame challenge Endless Mode! To play these new modes, load up your save and follow the in-game instructions to speak to the Goggle Guys at their pop-up on the outskirts of Nor Sentryville.[/p][carousel][/carousel][p][/p][p]There's also a short new quest featuring some familiar faces from Steel Century Groove: Midnight! The quest starts in the bottom-left corner of the Nor Sentryville park, and will continue in the full game. [/p][carousel][/carousel][p]Last but not least, to celebrate the start of Next Fest, the first single from the game, Pain by Weet., will be dropping on all streaming platforms on October 13th![/p][p][/p][h3][/h3][h3]Gameplay[/h3]

• [p]The Goggle Guys from Steel Century Groove: Midnight have opened a new pop-up on the outskirts of Nor Sentryville. Speak to them to experience Freeplay and Endless Mode.[/p]
• [p]Added a new side quest, starting from the corner of the park in Nor Sentryville, featuring some familiar faces from Steel Century Groove: Midnight.[/p]
• [p]You can now press B on the gamepad or Left Shift on the keyboard to sprint![/p]

• [p]Replica Tenzerks can now gain XP and level up, unlocking new passives.[/p]
• [p]Tenzerk level is now capped at 5 for the demo[/p]
• [p]Added a Win Condition option to Freeplay Mode that allows you to continue battling until the music is over.[/p]
• [p]Adjusted the intensity of force feedback effects throughout the game and added a new option in the options menu to control them. These effects can feel very different depending on your gamepad, so you may want to raise or lower their intensity.[/p]
• [p]Adjusted the scalings on the Fuel Injector and Inverse Ignition Coil mods for the Voltace. [/p]
• [p]The Single Use Ignition mod for the Aedonix now applies a buff, rather than increasing Acclaim gained from a single use of Impact.[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue where the Sentilon would not gain XP for combining AI with Genetic Algorithm.[/p]
• [p]Slightly reduced the Aedonix's XP gain.[/p]
• [p]The Aedonix's Meltdown counterplay is now based on ! Important moves, rather than Buffs or Debuffs.[/p]
• [p]Slightly increased the length of non-boss battles.[/p]
• [p]Small improvements to the underlying accuracy of note hit judgements (the difference is one or two frames at most).[/p]
• [p]Added a tutorial for how to move your character after character creation. Increased visibility of the front door exit from your house and added an extra line to the player's Mom to help clarify where you need to go.[/p]

[h3]Music[/h3]

• [p]Added a new song: Jump Everybody by DRIFALL, which is now used for the intro performance by Wreckless in Story Mode. This song will be unlocked for all players, even if you've already played the intro previously.[/p]
• [p]Tracks from the built-in soundtrack can now be unlocked even while using custom music.[/p]
• [p]Updated the Custom Music help screen to indicate that you can use songs in WAV, MP3, or OGG.[/p]
• [p]Very minor improvements to beat alignment across all built-in songs.[/p]

[h3]UI[/h3]

• [p]Improved the automatic latency calibration process and added it to its own options tab.[/p]
• [p]Tips now appear when loading into battle or when defeated. These can be turned off in the options menu.[/p]
• [p]The victory screen now shows how long the battle took and your overall accuracy.[/p]
• [p]Added a new UI that appears when you receive a new replica Tenzerk explaining their special move and level up bonuses.[/p]
• [p]Replica Tenzerk moves now use an octagon shape to more easily differentiate them from your lead Tenzerk's moves.[/p]
• [p]Increased gamepad navigation speed throughout all menus.[/p]
• [p]Fixed issues with HUD displays getting rotated excessively or cut off on ultrawide monitors. [/p]
• [p]Fixed various bugs that allowed you to use a gamepad to open the pause menu while other UI modals were already open.[/p]

[h3]Art/Visuals[/h3]

• [p]Opponents now have more visual variety in their replica Tenzerks.[/p]
• [p]Reduced the size of all note hit VFX.[/p]
• [p]Visual improvements to note hit VFX and the gameplay line.[/p]
• [p]Added a few new player hair options.[/p]
• [p]Straightened out the railings in the Marion Town Recycling Plant[/p]
• [p]Updated some of the faces and customization options for early-game pilots[/p]

[h3]Audio[/h3]

• [p]Improved audio scheduling for Tenzerk footstep sounds to make sure they align with the beat.[/p]
• [p]Improved audio playback of hit sounds to help them align better with the music. By default, they are now scheduled/delayed to play at the correct time when you hit a note early. You can change this setting in the Options menu.[/p]
• [p]Added UI sound effects to various places throughout the game where they were missing.[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue where the counterplay sound effect would not play when getting a burst of attention from the Aedonix's Meltdown move.[/p]

[h3]Bug Fixes[/h3]

• [p]Fixed an issue where the Dualdrive Fabricate toast popup could sometimes be hidden incorrectly when the cursor passed by.[/p]
• [p]Fixed a bug where the game could get stuck following a winning Acclaim trail to the top bar at the end of a battle.[/p]
• [p]Fixed a bug where the chromatic aberration effect could get stuck on screen if the battle ended while it was active.[/p]
• [p]Fixed a variety of issues where the player could get stuck against objects in the environment. Reduced jitter when running into obstacles.[/p]
• [p]Fixed a bug where extra, incorrect mods could appear at the end of the mods list in some circumstances.[/p][p][/p]

[p]Thanks for playing! If you run into any problems with this update or have more feedback, please send over a report via the in-game UI, comment on this update, or post it on the Steam discussion boards. I read everything![/p]

[p]Steel Century Groove has an official release date and it's January 28th 2026! Check out the new trailer for the announcement:[/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p]Make sure to add the game to your wishlist, and then get ready for release by playing the free demo so you can transfer your saves when the full game launches![/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p]