Section 13 News

Welcome, esteemed potential investors in the S2P Corporation!

Are you ready for the financial opportunity of a lifetime? Sure you are, or you wouldn’t have let our unmarked van drive you to this bunker in the middle of the desert! But I’m sure you want to know a little more about our company before you generously open your wallets.

S2P. The Simply Secure Paperclip Company. Secure Staffing Procurement Agency. Even the Sugary Syrup Pancake Factory!

We’ve been known by many names, and had many fronts, over the past eight decades since our founding in 1939. Our mission, however, remains the same: procure and eliminate supernatural, paranatural, and paranormal threats.

[Contained and extremely safe Quarantined Entities.]

From defeating werewolf Nazis in World War II, to facing off against robot laser squids in the Cold War, S2P has been there on the front lines, defending the world from total annihilation. Over the years, S2P has evolved along with its threats, growing from a pure containment mission to a proactive research organization with bases around the globe. There’s no better way of understanding an enemy than by catching it and studying it to see what makes it tick. And there’s no better way of defeating an enemy than by reverse-engineering a serum from its blood that will make it explode upon impact!

[Marvelous machinations!]

These marvelous advancements in technology, however, do not come cheap. You can’t put a price on freedom or safety—but you can put a price on nitrous-oxide flamethrowers. Which is why S2P has always relied on the kindness and generosity of the private sector and investors such as yourselves.

Thanks to investor funds, we have been able to expand from a handful of facilities in the contiguous United States to over a hundred compounds worldwide. From laboratories to QT (or Quarantined Entity) holding cells to nuclear-grade missile silos, S2P is the proud umbrella corporation of a thriving ecosystem of divisions.

Take, for example, Section 6, known colloquially as “Northwest”. After entering the expansive marble lobby and passing through our two dozen security screeners, you can visit the Cryptoveterinarian offices on the third floor, take a peek at some cutting edge grenades in Experimental Weapon Research and Development on the eighth floor, or stop in to get your 2030 taxes assessed in the Fourth Dimensional Accounting Department. (Just don’t get too creative with your deductions, or you might have an unscheduled meeting with our Paradox Department!)

[Our state-of-the-art weapons testing facility.]

Your money will not only go a long way towards securing the future of all of S2P’s ventures, but becoming an investor also comes along with its own very real perks, such as joining our alluring and mysterious Board of Investors. If S2P’s many facilities are its lifeblood, then the Board is its head, making the big decisions and steering the entire company towards success. Having been without a single-leader system since the 1940s, S2P has always relied on the stability of a quorum of intelligent voices and vested interests to turn S2P into the global superpower it is today.

[One of our many biotech labs, where ethics is one of several priorities.]

We thank you for consenting to let us blindfold you and bring you here today for this presentation. We hope it has not only been informative but exciting. Donuts and our signature SuperCoffee™ will be made available in the lounge on your way out, and we hope you will be ready to make your decision to invest before the private helicopters arrive to take you home. If you have time, please fill out a comment card to let us know how you enjoyed our presentation and what psychological effects it may have had on you.

On behalf of us all: welcome to the S2P family!

Hey all! This is Brandon Carbaugh, Narrative Lead on Section 13.

Up until now, we’ve been pretty tight-lipped about the narrative content in the final release version of the game, primarily because it’s one of the last major things to be added, and there just wasn’t much sense discussing it until you could get your hands on it. But with the launch date bearing down upon us, we figured now would be a good time to jump in!

So throughout this week, we’ll be giving you a whirlwind tour of storytelling in the new and improved world of Section 13.

• Today, I’ll be talking about our new Agent Casefiles system, as well as a general overview of how you’ll interact with story content in Section 13.
• Tomorrow, our friends at S2P will be sharing an investor briefing packet from a recent off-site meeting. Attendance is mandatory and your thought patterns will be monitored.
• On Wednesday, my cowriter Nicky will give you a behind-the-scenes look at the characters and world we’ve crafted, and the kind of stories you can expect to explore.
• Finally, on Thursday, I’ll be back to share our voiceover cast list for the game.

With no further ado, let’s get into it!

[h2]Where to Find the Story Stuff[/h2]
The first thing to make clear is that the core of the game isn’t changing much. For the majority of the game’s duration, while you’re out in the base blasting zombies, you won’t be running into a bunch of dialogue and cutscenes all over the place.

At launch, you’ll find story in basically four places: the critical path of the game—which includes the new intro, agent recruitment, and bosses—and the all-new Agent Casefiles.

[h3]1) The Intro[/h3]
The first time you boot up the game, there’s a new and overhauled prologue/tutorial to the game, where you’ll meet the characters, get comfortable with the setting, and be set on the path for the rest of the game.

If you haven’t played the game since the Blackout Protocol days, you’ll find this to be a wildly different first-time experience. If you’ve played the current placeholder version of the intro in the game’s live version, you’ll still find the release version pretty majorly different—the biggest difference being, you’ll get to meet the game’s big bad!

[A friendly meet-cute with a charming gentleman]

The intro takes most players about 20-30 minutes to get through, at the end of which you’re deposited at the Command Center. While we won’t be resetting save data on release, personally, I think the new intro kicks ass, so I’d recommend starting a fresh save if you want the full experience.

[h3]2) Agent Recruitment[/h3]
Once you’ve reached the Command Center and the full game opens up, you’ll gain the ability to start recruiting your fellow agents, who you can find and rescue in Restricted Rooms on the Lobby, Office, and Deep Storage Levels.

Upon recruiting a character, they’ll be sent back to the Command Center. The next time you return, you’ll have a little onboarding interview with them, where you’ll get a quick taste-test of what their personal story is about.

[Interviewing your new Head of Grumpiness.]

After that, you’re free to switch characters and play as them. And you’ll want to, because…

[h3]3) Agent Casefiles[/h3]
In the release version of the game, we’re unlocking the Agent Casefiles screen from the terminal in the Command Center. This is the main home for all unlockable story content. You can think of it like a vending machine that dispenses little snack-size servings of plot.


The currency you’ll use to interact with this system are USB security dongles, which you can find during runs by looting interaction points or buying them at Chillax Corners.

Each character has their own version of these, and they’re not shared. If you want to learn more about Boy Scout, play as Boy Scout. If you want to learn more about Beaker, play as Beaker.

[A buffet of dongles for your viewing pleasure.]

The next time you return to the Command Center, you can head to the Casefiles screen to spend your hard-earned dongles and unlock story files. These take three forms:

• Text documents
• Voiced audio logs
• Full visual novel scenes

[The casefiles screen.]

But you won’t be unlocking these one at a time (because that’s boring). Instead, you’ll decrypt packets, which unlock multiple files at once. A packet can consist of any blend of the above – sometimes it’s three documents, sometimes it’s two documents and an audio log, whatever.

Each packet consists of one major story beat in each character’s ongoing investigation into whatever personal mystery they’re pursuing at Section 13. For Boy Scout, that’s figuring out what the Nephilim is after, and why it crossed his path years ago. For Red, that’s digging into some surprising personal connections to S2P.


[Unlocking a packet of casefiles.]

These story beats are broken into 4 Acts, which are tied to in-game progress (and that is shared).

• Agent Casefiles system itself: Comes online the first time you return to the hub with at least 1 USB Dongle in your possession.
• Act 1 content: Becomes available for unlock, for each Agent, immediately upon recruiting them
• Act 2 content: Becomes available for all agents after recruiting the whole gang
• Act 3 content: Becomes available for all agents after beating the Exosuit for the first time (as anyone)
• Act 4 content: Becomes available for all agents after beating the Nephilim for the first time (as anyone)

Flipping through a new packet of story files will typically take just a few minutes – but there’s a lot of them. Each character’s storyline has about 15-20 packets total, and we’ve got just over 170 individual story unlockables in the game as a whole.

The goal is a story experience that threads into the core play loop without overwhelming it, giving you a little burst of intrigue between runs, to take some of the sting out of death and foster a deeper connection with the world.

[h3]4) Boss Dialogues[/h3]
Last but not least, we’re adding Hades-style recurring boss dialogues to the game. Each time you face off against a boss, you’ll get a fresh, brisk little exchange of banter between them and whoever you’re playing as.

[Chattin’ with the baddies.]

There’s not a massive amount of these (because, unlike Hades, our game has 4 protagonists). But what’s there is pretty fun, and they’ll respond dynamically to various play triggers, including progress through each character’s personal storyline and the game as a whole.

Mainly, these are short, simple, and silly, focused on injecting the bosses with some flavor and personality. So instead of just big scary lifebars, they’re big scary lifebars with names.

[h2]That’s All, Folks![/h2]
That’s pretty much all I got for you today! Our hope with the addition of these elements is not to fundamentally alter the core gameplay loop, but to enhance it, making the world more immersive and the characters more interesting. Do a run, come back to the hub, snack on some story, then get back out there and do it again.

Oh, and in case you’re wondering how all this interacts with multiplayer, the short answer is: it doesn’t. While you’re in multiplayer mode, story stuff mostly just gets turned off. Because nobody wants to stand around while their friend reads a book or watches a cutscene.

Agents and Sleeper Agents,

Section 13’s official launch is truly right around the corner!
Mark your calendars and enjoy the special trailer we created for this big news:

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
You will be able to access the full content at the times below, listed by time zone:

• PT: 10 AM on May 26, 2025
• ET: 1 PM on May 26, 2025
• CEST: 7 PM on May 26, 2025
• ICT: 12 AM on May 27, 2025
• KST: 2 AM on May 27, 2025

If you already enjoy Section 13, feel free to share the trailer with friends you want to play co-op with! Curious what Section 13 is all about? Check out the free single-player demo if you haven’t already!


- ODS Team

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https://store.steampowered.com/app/2111870/

Hello, ODS Community!

Time really flies–it’s PAX season again! Ocean Drive Studio will be in Boston for PAX East 2025, at Booth #15035!

We are bringing a fully horde-packed booth with demo stations for 3 games: Section 13, Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch, and God Save Birmingham! For Section 13, we are also bringing co-op to the floor, so you can team up with friends (or strangers!) to take on the base’s anomalies.

Of course, our demos come with cool swags!
Taking on the massive hordes of QTs in Section 13 will win you an LED armband that makes it easier to spot your fellow Agents.


Surviving the onslaught of the Fallen in Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch will reward you with a foam hat in the shape of a sword–a telling sign of how you made it out alive on Anareios.


Experiencing your first day of survival in God Save Birmingham will get you knighted–with a paper hat to keep you safer in the zombie-infested medieval town.


Come stop by our booth to be fully decked out for the triple zombie onslaught!




- ODS Team

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https://store.steampowered.com/app/2111870/

Update #2 (4/24 7:09 PM PT): We addressed the issue and will be patching soon! Patch schedule has been updated.
UPDATE (4/24 5:41 PM PT): We have found an unexpected issue, and will delay the hotfix. We hope to provide updates here soon!

[h3]Patch Schedule[/h3]

• PT: 7:30 PM, April 24, 2025
• ET: 10:30 PM, April 24, 2025
• CEST: 4:30 AM, April 25, 2025
• ICT: 9:30 AM, April 25, 2025
• KST: 11:30 AM, April 25, 2025

Agents,

We are deploying a hotfix patch (Ver 0.31.1) to bring bug fixes. We are grateful for our community sharing their experience so that we could look into them. We will continue to review all your feedback and reports to constantly improve Section 13.

For the changes included in this patch, please see below.

[h3]Bug Fixes[/h3]

• Addressed the issue that could sometimes cause the game to crash in the final area before the mission is completed (after you clear the Isolation Chamber level)
• Fixed the issue where spent Data Nugs would be returned to you when you got disconnected during multiplayer, spent Data Nugs, and rejoined the same session

Please note that if you are playing at this time, your game will not be interrupted. You will be prompted to download the patch the next time you open Section 13. Please install the update as soon as possible for the best experience.


- ODS Team

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https://store.steampowered.com/app/2111870/