MISERY News

[p]Great news, Survivors. The DMCA strike was lifted, and MISERY is back in store.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Thank you to our community for the awesome unity and support, it really helped us get through tough times.[/p][p]To celebrate the peace in Zaslavie, we are launching a special 50% discount for the Supporter Bundle throughout the weekend (If you'd like, you can buy the supporter DLC separately for full price).[/p][p][/p][p]Last Friday we received a DMCA strike notice from GSC and MISERY went dark immediately. Same day we filed a counter notice, protesting the clauses listed in claim against MISERY.[/p][p]This Wednesday we received a message from GSC lawyer team elaborating on their claims against MISERY, and we resolved this misunderstanding.[/p][p][/p][p]While we are adamant that MISERY does not infringe on any GSC-owned IP regarding the world, setting, characters, etc., as claimed in the original notice, there were two issues we were not aware of at the time of the strike and which were not mentioned in the DMCA claim.[/p][p][/p][p]1. Helicopter model in the files. MISERY is an evolution of educational, non-commercial projects that was trailing for around 4 years and started forming into MISERY in the beginning of 2025. This model was unintentionally left in the resources as a legacy leftover, but it was NEVER used in the game, and players NEVER saw it in the game. This is definitely an oversight on the dev side, but it did no harm. Now it has been found (thanks to community research) and permanently removed.[/p][p]2. Guitar songs. GSC games used popular folk songs as their guitar melodies, including Tsyganochka, for instance. MISERY dev's friend wrote original covers of some of these songs, and they were used in MISERY as guitar songs. NO ORIGINAL FILES FROM GSC GAMES WERE USED. It turned out that some (not all!) of the songs were specifically written or exclusively licensed by GSC, and they asked us to remove these songs, which we immediately did.[/p][p]GSC also asked us not to include any references or Easter Eggs related to their games, and while it is sad, and we only wanted to have a love letter homage such as the Arch, we agree and have removed it. [/p][p]Again, no assets from GSC games were ripped and used in MISERY.[/p][p][/p][p]And this is it.[/p][p][/p][p]MISERY is inspired by many cultural artifacts, movies, books, games, but it is a totally unique IP. [/p][p]Zaslavie is not connected to other universes, nor does it use or directly refer to any characters, events, storylines, etc.[/p][p]We wish the DMCA claim had not been used as the first step in communication. A simple email could have solved it in minutes without any drama, or at least a clear claim on what was wrong in the DMCA instead of just referring to Soviet buildings, plot, storyline, characters, etc., which MISERY clearly does not infringe upon.[/p][p][/p][p]But it is what it is. Legally, it is very easy to file a DMCA claim and shut down any game, and the burden of proof of innocence is on the defendant's side. The question lies in the use of such power.[/p][p]For our team, it was extremely painful financially, as it led to a wave of refunds and just shutting down a game for a week in the release month, which for many is a death sentence. But thanks to your support, we do have resources to continue development. We have now hired a small team to reinforce development, and everything that was promised will be delivered on time. You can expect a big update next month and a series of patches focused on performance, QoL features, and bug fixes (we hear you about patch notes!).[/p][p][/p][p]We also want to ask players who negatively reviewed GSC games: we understand you wanted to help, we appreciate you, but please go back and revert these comments if they are not connected to the game itself and were written in support of the cause. We do not support review-bombing practices, they are harmful to the gaming community. And please do not insult other players or GSC, especially using racial slurs or politic themes - this will not be tolerated.[/p][p][/p][p]We also expect review-bombing towards MISERY in retaliation, as the whole drama has upset many people. We hope it will not affect us too much, and you can counterbalance it with your honest reviews.[/p][p]We have established a strict policy on Discord moderation, so no anarchy dumpster fire as it was before.[/p][p]Once again, we THANK YOU for your support and feedback. Tons of likes, thousands of comments, videos, posts. You literally saved MISERY with your support and we sincerely thank you.[/p][p][/p][p]Lessons learned, now back to work.[/p][p][/p][p]For Zaslavie![/p][p][/p][p]PS. After MISERY returning, there is a fake DEMO button on the Steam page that does not work and we can not remove it on our side. [/p][p]We reached out to Steam support already to fix it.[/p]

[p]So today we received two pieces of news. One - we won a Community Popular Vote at the DevGAMM Awards, surpassing juggernauts like HoMM Olden Era (very good game!). So thank you for your support! [/p][carousel][/carousel][p]Another - GSC Game World attacked MISERY with a DMCA strike, and the store page is now suspended, so you cannot buy the game at the moment. [/p][p][/p][p]In their claim, they state that MISERY infringes on their IP and that players' reviews mention S.T.A.L.K.E.R., which means it hurts their interests. [/p][p]This is absolutely untrue, and we will fight back to reinstate MISERY on Steam. [/p][p][/p][p]MISERY is a completely different concept, happening in the fictional Republic of Zaslavie, and it has nothing to do with the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. universe, Chernobyl, etc. MISERY uses no characters, plot, storyline, assets, monsters, music, code, etc., from their games. It is all either originally created or legally licensed. We also think that this is an abuse of power against small independent developers by a large corporation, and it should not be a thing. [/p][p]We do not pose any threat to GSC or their IP, we do not compete with their games, nor do we use any of their IP. [/p][p]Of course, MISERY was inspired by many things, including games, movies, and books, but filing a DMCA strike for that is wrong. We also want to remind GSC that their games draw heavily from Roadside Picnic and the Stalker movie by Tarkovsky, and they do not own the copyright on depressive Soviet-era buildings, playing guitar, vodka, radiation, or abandoned locations, or even the poo. [/p][p][/p][p]We are 100% sure this misunderstanding will be resolved, MISERY will be back on Steam very soon, and we will see many amazing updates and new content. This is very unfortunate and painful for us, both mentally and financially, but the development continues, all the updates will be delivered on time, and soon we can play MISERY again. [/p][p][/p][p]Thank you so much for your support.[/p][p][/p][p]For Zaslavie![/p][p][/p][p]ATTENTION: Please do not review-bomb GSC Games, do not insult them or other people in comments, especially for their nationality! We do not want or support that. [/p]

[p]Hello Survivors,[/p][p]Over the last week, we have been releasing small hotfix patches, and today we released a patch with major bug fixes, quality-of-life improvements, and new content.[/p][p]Thank you for your support, comments, suggestions, and reports. We read each and every comment and track all the complaints and requests. MISERY development is going strong, with the primary focus on fixes and performance optimization, and we are planning a big update for December with new mechanics and content. Meanwhile, we will be issuing regular small patches, fixing the nastiest issues, and adding nice little things here and there.[/p][p][/p][p]Also, thank you for so many amazing arts, videos, and screenshots — they give us a chuckle and help us survive these difficult times. Except for the one where a survivor humps a dwarf - this one is...questionable.[/p][p][/p][p]Here is what has changed since the release:[/p]

1. [p]New pack of furniture - almost two dozen new items to find in expeditions and bring back to your bunker, including new carpets![/p]
2. [p]You can now attack and switch a flashlight on/off while running - it improves the experience a lot![/p]
3. [p]You can now build on the lower level of your bunker[/p]
4. [p]Infinite jumping bombs bug fixed[/p]
5. [p]Artifact effects fixed - now they work in accordance with the description[/p]
6. [p]Tactical Helmet description fixed[/p]
7. [p]Corrupted saves issue fixed (or at least seriously improved!)[/p]
8. [p]Friends Only servers feature added! Now you can limit who can join your world to your Steam Friends and avoid griefers and trolls. Further improvements in server management (bans, etc.) are coming in future updates[/p]
9. [p]Gravity anomaly visibility improved. Now it is easier to avoid if you pay attention[/p]
10. [p]"Please Save" warning on exit added to prevent exiting without saving your world. Autosaves are WIP and will probably come in future updates[/p]
11. [p]Mouse sensitivity improved. The scale is now x2, so you can tune sensitivity more precisely[/p]
12. [p]Disconnect warning and confirmation added to prevent accidental disconnects[/p]
13. [p]Wall placement behind the Crematorium fixed, now you can build there[/p]
14. [p]Cabinets placement improved; now you can space them as you wish so your bunker looks neat.[/p]
15. [p]Garbage bags bug fixed[/p]
16. [p]ESC crash fixed. It was caused by a Windows microphone permission issue. However! There is another double ESC crash bug - it is not fixed yet, as it is rare, and we are still investigating.[/p]
17. [p]Voice Chat high-pitch sound bug fixed[/p]
18. [p]Nights got brighter and more moody.[/p]

[p][/p][p][/p][p]What we are still working on and will fix with the highest priority:[/p]

• [p]FPS drops while jumping[/p]
• [p]Memory leak in long sessions[/p]
• [p]Double ESC crash bug and other Fatal Error incidents[/p]
• [p]Desyncs are not yet completely eliminated, but we have made good progress on this[/p]

[p][/p][carousel][/carousel][p]Besides that, about 50 fixes and improvements are on our task list, and as we read through your comments, we add more. All that + everything we stated in the roadmap, so stay tuned![/p][p][/p][p]If you are enjoying MISERY, please leave your review on Steam! It really helps and motivates us to move forward in development.[/p][p][/p][p]Thank you again for your incredible support and bravery in the Zone.[/p][p][/p][p]Za Zaslavie![/p]

[p]MISERY has sold over 222k copies since its release last week and is taking part in the Steam Scream Fest IV organized by Valve! Thank you all for your support![/p][p][/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]