New Heights News

[p]Hello everyone!

i everyone! It's Steam Sports fest, and we've joined it with a 20% discount. If you didn't have the game yet, you can grab it for the discounted price, just before the huge update! [/p][p]
It was meant to be timed nicely with the new update, but alas, we could not make that in time. Still working very hard on that though.

I know that there is the banner that says 'this game has not been updated, it might be abandoned'. Our fault for combining too much in one update. But if you're in doubt: no, we have not abandoned this game and we're working on it very steadily.[/p][p] [/p][p]So a development update that I've also posted on the discussions board and our Discord server: I've been sick for quite a while. Incredibly annoying, totaling about 2 months actually in bed and about 5 months being sick this year. But since this week, I'm feeling fine again![/p][p][/p][p]The big update contains rope belaying, the Hanshelleren / Flatanger cave, more customization options, a full climbing system overhaul and more. (Check the previous update or the Discord for details)[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]We're working on a lot of routes: Al Legne and Hanshelleren Cave. And our developer Joris has been making incredible progress, also when I was gone. We've made a big memory & performance optimization: better dynamic loading for big locations. So.. Al Legne is about 2x the original density, but it also doesn't fry your (and our 😅) computer anymore! And we're optimizing vegetation / trees in the distance btw. Another nice bit.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]We had this 2025 deadline. We're not making it. I really really wanted to make it, but I have to watch my energy and health. And other projects, and personal life, and we want this to be good, not a buggy mess. And my god, making games takes so much time.[/p][p][/p][p]I do think that at LEAST we'll publish a beta / test version somewhere in the coming three weeks. Not perfectly polished probably, but a chance to test the rope system and gameplay overhaul.[/p]

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p]We have been working hard on the biggest rework and update for New Heights to date. The update will land near the end of 2025, though a beta version will be accessible in September. [/p][p][/p][h2]Rope physics belaying system[/h2][p]It replaces the respawning system with a full rope physics based belaying system! Including a (limited) rapelling mode. [/p][p][/p][h2]Climbing system rework[/h2][p]The climbing system is being reworked to be much more consistent, flexible, realistic, performant and user friendly. [/p][p][/p][h3]Super high fidelity locations rework[/h3][p]Existing locations are being reworked in much higher detail. Most notable Al Lègne and the castle Crèvecoeur have been upgraded significantly. Routes have also been reworked, and a few 'mega-routes' have been added.[/p][p][/p][h3]Textureless surface scan mode[/h3][p]As requested by some members of our community, a 'Textureless surface scan' mode is added to the game. In some places, this makes it easier for you to see the exact surface without being distracted by non-existing features the texture. [/p][p][/p][h3]First person bonus mode[/h3][p]A funny / bonus First Person View mode is also being developed! Don't expect a perfect experience, but it's nice for a change of view. And a challenge :p [/p][p][/p][h3]More customization[/h3][p]Many more customization options are being added as well. And more. [/p][p][/p][h3]All updates on Discord[/h3][p]Detailed development updates can be found on the Discord channel! [/p][p]https://discord.gg/2DqPft9tnk[/p][p][/p]

[h2]The Major Summer Update is live! Adding workshop support, 65 new Fontainebleau routes and much more.[/h2]

Now you can really climb on anything in New Heights! You can browse the steam workshop page for user made content, create your own routes from within New Heights or create new locations with a Unity-based workshop tool.

[h2]New Fontainebleau Locations[/h2]

The update brings three new Fontainebleau Locations:

The fortress of Tour Denecourt and some nearby boulders - 18 routes
The famous Elephant boulder and some nearby boulders - 12 routes
Abaye Notre Dame du Lys, beautiful ruins of a large cistercian church - 35 routes

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h2]Custom Route Creation[/h2]

You will be able to record your own routes within New Heights, and share them on the Steam Workshop. We are very interested in seeing what kind of routes you can come up with!



Many examples and instructions will follow, including tutorial videos on how to use Unity and how to optimize your locations for climbing.

You can read more about how to create your own locations in the guide:
https://newheightsgame.com/blog/how-to-create-your-own-routes

[h2]Location Creation Tool[/h2]

The workshop tool is a basic Unity project with a 'Steam Workshop Wizard' in it. For those of you with few or no Unity experience, don't worry! I'll start uploading videos, and at least one will contain tips and tricks, and they will cover the basics of the controls within Unity. And you don't have to code btw. Just using the editor is enough.



The tool contains a few holds that we used in the tutorial routes. It does not, however, include other assets like nature props, because we didn't make them ourselves. So we don't have the licenses to share those assets with you. But don't worry, the unity asset store has a lot of free and cheap assets for you to get started: https://assetstore.unity.com/

You can read more about how to create your own locations in the guide:
https://newheightsgame.com/blog/how-to-create-your-own-locations

[h2]Patch notes[/h2]

The update also includes the following changes/fixes:

- Added automatic balancing mode when not holding something with one or two hands
- Dyno's fixed - much more stable, much less abusable, also less disorienting
- A brand new menu system. It removes the fiddly mouse-over route selection. Also it costs less time for us to create new locations this way, and it gives us more route creation freedom because routes can now cross each other.
- Working on replay-ghost transparency issues. Not fully fixed yet, but improving
- Fixed route creation spawn point offset
- Reworked falling / landing, making it at least a bit less random-resetting. Not perfect yet, but we feel like we're going into the right direction
- Fixed many reported location issues, also at Al Lègne
- Fixed steam cloud save
- Fixed controller issues in the menu and route created popup
- Fixed wrong context menu icons being shown sometimes
- Made pinch icon appear more often again
- Fixed some spelling mistakes
- Some graphical changes to the character, increasing skin detail

- Made multiple small physics changes to make the movement more stable / less qwoppy
- Improved posture in a few often-occurring situations
- Foot hanging penalty reduced
- Foot max hang support increased
- Increased max hang support slightly
- Reduced max inverse support bonus
- Reduced max local inverse support bonus slightly
- Adjusted upwards-facing support curve, causing slight situational buff (at slopey top-outs)

[h2]Workshop Tutorials, Content and Examples[/h2]
Multiple workshop examples and tutorial videos will follow shortly.

Content and examples on Steam Workshop:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/2179440/workshop/

Tutorial video's on Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/@newheightsgame/videos

Discussions, suggestions and bug reports on Discord:
https://discord.gg/2DqPft9tnk

A large update with both Steam Workshop Support and three Fontainebleau locations comes out this week, allowing you to create any custom climbing location or route!

Here's a quick preview of the three new locations:
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

And some reads on how to workshop support will work:
https://newheightsgame.com/blog/how-to-create-your-own-routes
https://newheightsgame.com/blog/how-to-create-your-own-locations

More to follow very soon!

Hi people, we have released a new bug-fix patch! Thanks everyone for your bug reports and suggestions 😊 It helps a lot.

Fixes include:
Ghosts don't turn off (mostly - there were some more edge cases discovered just now)
Route 11 OOB
Regraded routes AL #60 and CdC #3
Made a volume slider for stamina / beating heart sounds
Outfit not saving bug
Says 264 stars
Get all stars achievement
Camera problems on cul de chien (somewhat fixed)
Achievement unlock issues
Game crash on exit
Steam / deep-links to routes
Improved steam-deck compatibility

Also some suggestions were implemented:
Shift / leg toggle keys are now rebindable as well
Ghosts are transparent for a bit longer, then become opaque a bit further

A few issues were not fixed because they are hard to find / reproduce, mostly the soft-locks. We'll work on them. Also we are not changing the climbing system, because it would kind of invalidate the whole season / leaderboard. So climbing system changes are also for the next major update.