A week of horror, big update, news, and something else...
Ahoy there, patients of the Hanwell Mental Institute! 👋
Slowly, but steadily we're crushing all the bugs there were reported during these early days. The community (that means YOU!) have been absolutely amazing reporting and helping us figure out some of these issues. Several wishlist items were sorted out today. Let's see...
[h2]Patch 1.1.25321 codename "You're so cool, Brewster![/h2]
The more complete menu options in which you'll be able to tweak many other settings to your content and obliterate our artistic vision is due out next week. For fans of the oppressive vignette: you will be able to reenable that. I also heard a complain that the old ASYLUM demo was more noisy and grungy. Fine. We'll give you a setting to enable the "grindhouse" edition of the game. Super noisy and dirty, like the tape of an old VHS covered in mold and fungi.
When I mentioned that we're readying a big update for Halloween with optional content (this year, yes, 2025) a lot of people groaned. 7 months is way too much of a long wait in this day and age of instant gratification, so we're going to do the following:
We'll give you the possibility to pre-purchase the Halloween add-on very soon, at a discounted rate, and give you some stuff right away:
With this preorder, you'll get the following in Halloween (this year):
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
Also... we didn't forget about Steam cards, emojis, and cool wallpapers, which are on their way. Fans are already at work too and, with their permission, we'd love to include some of their gorgeous art in the upcoming update. The babydog sticker by Princess Magpie is a big favorite in our Discord. Are you doing fan work too? LET US KNOW ASAP.
I understand the mixed feelings about the ending. Scratches attempted an unusual conclusion for its time, which devolved in heated forum debates. ASYLUM does something even more risky. Whether it worked or not, only time will tell. For obvious reasons, please don't discuss the ending here, since not everyone following these updates has played the game. The "semi-official" thread in Steam is this one: https://steamcommunity.com/app/230210/discussions/0/552359350148051426. There are many other exchanges in Discord too.
Going through the debate, and some of the shrewd observations already shared, I fully stand by the ending and wouldn't change a thing. Everything is intentional, nothing was rushed. Anything else I say will ruin its lasting effect, so I'll have to bite my tongue and let things flow. I know some of you have already figured out, though (and even when you feel like you "got it", there's going to be more to digest).
Thanks all for your continuing support over the years! Hope you have a lovely weekend!
—AgustÃn
Slowly, but steadily we're crushing all the bugs there were reported during these early days. The community (that means YOU!) have been absolutely amazing reporting and helping us figure out some of these issues. Several wishlist items were sorted out today. Let's see...
[h2]Patch 1.1.25321 codename "You're so cool, Brewster![/h2]
- Cloud saves are now enabled! Windows, Mac and Steam Deck are syncing perfectly. Really embarrassed about this one which was a combination of issues, including a single checkbox that had to be unchecked. Thanks nian in the forums for your superb help.
- Camera motion can now be disabled! Getting sick while playing the game, and not because of the disturbing horror? Go into your Record Book and check the conveniently titled Disable camera motion setting. Transitions will play pretty much like Scratches. If you need to slow down the camera movement, adjust the Speed of reflexes to Slow. No need to have a sickness bag nearby now.
- Big Mac improvements! The amount of crashes reported on Mac (related to pesky video codecs) have been significantly reduced. We still have pending issues left to work out, but the experience is way less frustrating now.
- No more crashing when loading certain savegames! Some game conditions, and in particular the High Risk section, posed quite a few unexpected issues which should have been resolved now. If you're experiencing a crash when loading a saved game, please let us know ASAP, either in the forums or by email at [email protected].
- Text overlay for easier reading now fully functional! Use the mouse wheel or thumbsticks (including Deck) to scroll the text. No more squinting.
- Added missing Julia video in a certain closeup.
- Added missing VOs from Bruno when you're pestering a certain someone.
- A certain date that should have been blurred is now blurred. Ya'll really paying attention to the tiniest of details.
- Fixed some savegames showing the title "Invalid!". No, that wasn't a secret clue, just a random bug.
- Fixed a window in a surgery room that didn't show rain when it's raining. We know you love rain and felt awful for taking away the rain from you.
- End credits updated because we forgot to include some cool and supportive people. We're horrible developers.
- Further translation fixes across all languages. The big localization (and final update) is schedule for next week.
- Build string: version 1.1.25321 (test with CTRL + V).
The more complete menu options in which you'll be able to tweak many other settings to your content and obliterate our artistic vision is due out next week. For fans of the oppressive vignette: you will be able to reenable that. I also heard a complain that the old ASYLUM demo was more noisy and grungy. Fine. We'll give you a setting to enable the "grindhouse" edition of the game. Super noisy and dirty, like the tape of an old VHS covered in mold and fungi.
What's next? Pt. 2
When I mentioned that we're readying a big update for Halloween with optional content (this year, yes, 2025) a lot of people groaned. 7 months is way too much of a long wait in this day and age of instant gratification, so we're going to do the following:
We'll give you the possibility to pre-purchase the Halloween add-on very soon, at a discounted rate, and give you some stuff right away:
- Original soundtrack. Including lavish liner notes, full versions of the songs that didn't appear in the game, and early demos.
- Art book. Preview with photos and Kirkbride blueprints from real life asylums that inspired the game.
- A Tour of Hanwell. Preview of the upcoming documentary with our recorded visit to a real life mental institution in Buenos that inspired many aspects of the story.
With this preorder, you'll get the following in Halloween (this year):
- Full Art Book. Including WIP screens of the early days of development, and a journey through the visual design of ASYLUM.
- A Tour of Hanwell. The complete documentary with team interviews and the full overview of the whole madness that was this development.
- Annotated script. The original script dating back to 2009, unchanged but including new annotations. No, I won't reveal the nature of the ending.
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
Also... we didn't forget about Steam cards, emojis, and cool wallpapers, which are on their way. Fans are already at work too and, with their permission, we'd love to include some of their gorgeous art in the upcoming update. The babydog sticker by Princess Magpie is a big favorite in our Discord. Are you doing fan work too? LET US KNOW ASAP.
Speaking of which...
I understand the mixed feelings about the ending. Scratches attempted an unusual conclusion for its time, which devolved in heated forum debates. ASYLUM does something even more risky. Whether it worked or not, only time will tell. For obvious reasons, please don't discuss the ending here, since not everyone following these updates has played the game. The "semi-official" thread in Steam is this one: https://steamcommunity.com/app/230210/discussions/0/552359350148051426. There are many other exchanges in Discord too.
Going through the debate, and some of the shrewd observations already shared, I fully stand by the ending and wouldn't change a thing. Everything is intentional, nothing was rushed. Anything else I say will ruin its lasting effect, so I'll have to bite my tongue and let things flow. I know some of you have already figured out, though (and even when you feel like you "got it", there's going to be more to digest).
Thanks all for your continuing support over the years! Hope you have a lovely weekend!
—AgustÃn
