Descenders Next News

[p]Hi everyone!

Descenders Next's first major update of the year: CAREER MODE!

Last year, we gave you a sneak peek into some of the stuff we're working on and what you can expect to see in Descenders Next! We're super excited to get started with the first of many updates. We know you're gonna love this update - shall we jump in?[/p][p][/p][p]To celebrate, you can also grab Descenders Next for 15% OFF right now![/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]You can explore a brand new career path in both sports, featuring brand new biomes! Not only that, but we've also added new legendary gear drops which can only be earned in Career Mode. Go nail those BOSS JUMPS and get that gear![/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p]
We've also added some more minor features, quality of life changes, and bug fixes! Here's the full list:

Major Features[/p]

• [p]Career Mode[/p]
  • [p]New Biomes[/p]
  • [p]Legendary Career - Only gear drops[/p]

[p]
Minor Features

• New Avatar Icons!
• Localization Updates
• Adjusted Carve tutorial to be steeper
• Can no longer accelerate when leaning
• Sped up Countdown timer

Bugfixes

• 'Custom Session' voting rework
• 'Follow the leader' REP no longer resets when wasted
• Key rebind prompt correctly labels steering, jumping, and tweaking
• Various UI SFX
• Tutorial text spacing in UI
• Various menu UI wording
• Improved a lot of tree and grass normals
• 'Explore Biome' Achievement now excludes removed level types (i.e. Shops)
• Socials UI no longer flickers when switching screens
• Pop ups no longer accept multiple button inputs
• Fixed an issue where players were getting stuck after finishing during a Custom Session
• Fixed an issue where spamming ready during the post-game of a Custom Session would cause a broken game state
[/p][p][/p][p]
What's Next?

There's plenty more updates coming! Here's what to expect:
[/p]

• [p]Spectate Mode[/p]
• [p]Multiplayer Custom Session Mode: Career[/p]
• [p]Crew Members for Career Mode[/p]
• [p]Grand Tour re-imagining[/p]

[p]
Thank you all so much for your support - we can't wait for you to explore Career Mode! We'll see you on the trails!

- RageSquid & No More Robots [/p]

[p][/p][h3]Hey all,[/h3][h3]Rosie from RageSquid here.[/h3][p]We're very sorry for taking so long with updates on Descenders Next, and not being able to deliver what we've been promising yet. I'd like to give a brief explanation of what's been happening!

Since the Descenders Next launch, we've realized that the way we wanted to tie parks into the world map with the beloved procedural mode in Descenders 1 didn't really resonate with people the way we hoped it would. Behind the scenes we're slowly working on getting the feel and flow of Descenders back into Descenders Next. So Descenders Next also feels like a game where you go 'okay one more run'.

Changing these systems takes a lot of time and effort. As you know, Descenders took a while to get where it is today, and implementing that into Descenders Next is no different.

We're also taking on console development ourselves, and with this huge multiplayer update (more info below!) we've had issue after issue. This definitely affected how long this update took, and once again we're very sorry for that. Obviously we want to work on the fun stuff instead of fixing all these behind the scenes problems.

Another reason is that we all know you still love Descenders, and still love the updates we're bringing out. We also don't want to leave that behind. It's a project that we put SO much love into, and it really still is very dear to us. We're still a small studio here at RageSquid (fewer than 10 of us!) so you can imagine taking on both Descenders and Descenders Next is quite the effort. And I think we maybe underestimated the work that came with managing two big projects.

All that being said we're super happy that we've managed to put out a massive Descenders update, and are now finally pushing the Descenders Next Multiplayer Update out in the open! We know it's a big ask, but please don't lose hope in us yet. We're making some changes in the way we're going to approach newer updates, and are really planning to get smaller but more frequent updates out there in the new year. We're confident that we can turn this around!

Once again we're very sorry, but for now we hope you enjoy both the Descenders Big Air Compound update, and this Descenders Next Multiplayer Update! We wish you all the most lovely holidays, and we can't wait to regain your trust in the new year. We're on it ❤️[/p][hr][/hr][p]And now for the update details! We're super happy we're able to introduce Descenders Next's biggest update so far:[/p][h3]We're bringing brand new multiplayer modes, custom lobbies, and a complete overhaul to how you earn gear! REP IS BACK, baby! [/h3][p][/p][h3]CUSTOM LOBBIES[/h3][p]Since the launch of Descenders Next, we've been working hard on getting custom lobbies in the game, and we're super happy to announce that you can now join up and play with your friends, the same way you always have in Descenders![/p][p][/p][h3]PARK MODE[/h3][p]Join up and create a private room to play the parks in Descenders Next together with all your friends! There's a voting system in place, so once you're tired of one, you'll just vote and hit up another![/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]RACE MODE[/h3][p]Are you the most Kinetic of them all? Prove it in Race Mode! Make a selection of the race levels, and compete against your friends to prove you're the fastest! The clock is ticking![/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]FOLLOW THE LEADER MODE[/h3][p]Get ready to explore the whole world map together with your friends. One person is the leader, but you can all vote on where they should take you next. Explore the world map together in a way that makes Descenders Next better than ever![/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]WAY MORE GEAR, NEW WAY TO UNLOCK[/h3][p]The shops are out of business! We've heard your feedback, and have brought back the old Descenders system where the amount of REP you gain in a session matters. Do a run from safe zone to safe zone, score loads of points, and see if you can get all the Extraordinary Gear in your itinerary. Did someone say there's shiny glowy things to collect now?![/p][p][/p][p]As a side node (pun intended), this does not mean the shops are meant to be gone forever, we are still seeing if they have a place in the game. But we feel this makes every run special to get those fancy items again, back to the grind![/p][p][/p][h3]FULL CHANGELOG[/h3][p]Of course, we've got a bunch of bug fixes & quality of life changes headed your way too! Here's a full roundup of everything in this update:[/p][p]Major features:[/p]

• [p]3 new multiplayer modes (Park Mode, Race Mode, Follow the Leader Mode)[/p]
• [p]New gear system based on session REP[/p]

[p]Minor features:[/p]

• [p]New avatar hairstyles[/p]
• [p]Lots of new gear (Common, Uncommon, Rare and Extraordinary)[/p]
• [p]New input UI[/p]
• [p]New bonus objective: complete mini-boss[/p]
• [p]New notification UI[/p]

[p]Audio/SFX updates:[/p]

• [p]Voices now pitch in replay editor[/p]
• [p]Woodslats no longer silent for Snowboarding[/p]
• [p]UI additions[/p]

[p]Bug fixes:[/p]

• [p]When holding down your navigation input you will now hear continuous rollover SFX[/p]
• [p]Fixed input issues with socials[/p]
• [p]Fixed replay being corrupted when favouriting[/p]
• [p]Fixed replay options input[/p]
• [p]Fixed Postgame disappearing when skipping the last screen[/p]
• [p]Fixed ambient sounds not being stopped when going into a replay[/p]
• [p]Fixed News input[/p]
• [p]Fixed input indicators[/p]
• [p]Socials input now hides when buttons aren't available[/p]
• [p]Fixed low resolution images of medals and trophies[/p]

[h3]What's Next?[/h3][p]We are still working on bringing back Career Mode from Descenders, because we know how much you love it! Here is a little sneak peek at how it's looking - look familiar?[/p][p][/p][p]We also have a brand new park in the works! We're expecting to drop this early next year, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled! Here's a little sneak peek:[/p][p][/p][p]Thank you all for the ongoing support, and we'll see you on the slopes! ❤️[/p][p][/p][p]Love,[/p][p]RageSquid & No More Robots[/p]

[p]Hi everyone! We've got a bunch of things to talk about in this update, including what we've got planned for Descenders Next, and some improvements & fixes we've made in the latest update! Let's start with what we've got planned for Descenders Next![/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]We've been sitting & watching you all play since we launched into Early Access, and we've already got a ton of ideas we're looking at for the future of Next. Here's a rundown of some of them:[/p][p][/p][p]Career Mode[/p][p]
You all love Career Mode in Descenders, and why wouldn't you? It's a great mode to progress through, with great replayability, so we want to bring something similar to Descenders Next. This doesn't mean we're getting rid of the current World Map - which we'll call 'The Grand Tour' for now - but it means we're adding another way to play the game![/p][p][/p][p]New ways of Unlocking Gear & Phasing Out DesCents[/p][p]
Similar to Descenders, we are going to add a pool of items that can be unlocked based on the amount of REP earned in a session. You will also have the chance to earn gear through team specific objectives & ranks. In The Grand Tour, instead of shops we'll have gear that will be locked behind objective based quests. All of this means the DesCents currency wouldn't really have a place anywhere, so we would just remove it entirely, and unlocking would be solely through REP & objectives. Of course, we wouldn't want you to lose all your hard earned DesCents and get nothing in return, so we're going to have a look at how we'll be able to compensate you when the REP changes roll in![/p][p][/p][p]Crew Members[/p][p]
We know how much you all love the Crew Members in Descenders - we do too! With the return of a Career style mode, we're looking at bringing back Crew Members, just to add some more variety during runs![/p][p][/p][p]World Map Changes[/p][p]
With bringing a new Career Mode, we're looking at some changes to the current World Map - The Grand Tour. Instead of the usual way of navigating to your chosen Sport & Biome, we'd look one big world instead, with different nodes to choose from - each node being a biome. We would have new ways of unlocking biomes, including through off-pistes, medals & trophies. Boss jumps would potentially move over to the new Career Mode instead of The Grand Tour, but this is something we are still looking at - whatever works best when we're testing everything out![/p][p][/p][p]Multiplayer Game Modes[/p][p]
We're still working on new game modes for Multiplayer, and we're happy to say we've already made a lot of progress! Soon, we're going to start internally testing a Park Mode, Race Mode, and a mode called Follow the Leader. We'll be updating you with more in the coming months of course, but we are very excited for the future of Descenders Next! We appreciate how much you love a lot of the features from the original Descenders, so we can't wait to bring them all to you! [/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]So, here's what we've dropped in the latest update:[/p][p][/p][p]Major Fixes:[/p][p]
We've addressed and updated the game to patch out the recent Unity security exploit[/p][p][/p][p]Major features:[/p]

• [p]You can now replay each tutorial individually[/p]

[p]Minor features:[/p]

• [p]New type of off-piste node on the World Map[/p]
• [p]Spring Snows renamed to Spring Blossoms[/p]
• [p]New boss jump for Spring Blossoms[/p]
• [p]MB foot push animation for acceleration[/p]
• [p]Improved PostFX for each biome[/p]
• [p]Improved foliage textures[/p]
• [p]Motion Blur added[/p]
• [p]Improved padding tree spawning in Snowy Peaks[/p]
• [p]Improved skidding values for Snowboard and Mountainboard[/p]
• [p]Brake now cancels skidding[/p]
• [p]Objective: Finish without Braking[/p]
• [p]Objective: Finish without Bailing[/p]

[p]Audio/SFX updates:[/p]

• [p]Revised 'Wasted' sfx[/p]
• [p]Pagoda shingles audio for Spring Snows boss[/p]

[p]Bug fixes:[/p]

• [p]Fix Input: Input is analog now[/p]
• [p]Improved ragdoll bail behaviour[/p]
• [p]Timer no longer stops when bailed[/p]

[p][/p][p]We've also got a bunch of exciting things going on with Descenders - click here to read more about it![/p][p][/p][p]Thank you for all of your support so far! We can't wait to bring you more exciting things to Descenders Next - do continue to send over your feedback, thoughts, and of course bug reports! We'll see you soon![/p]

Hi everyone!

First of all, we want to thank you all so much for the love and support you've given Descenders Next since we launched into Early Access!

Of course, we've been monitoring and keeping an eye out on your feedback and thoughts so far, including bug reports, and we've been working hard in the background to start implementing changes! The most common bit of feedback we've received so far is to do with brakes, speed, and having a bit more control over it.

So, with that being said - we hear you, and we've introduced BRAKING! Now, you'll be able to slow your rider down at high speeds, and wherever you think you'd need to tactically use it! If you're a skilled Descenders player, you'll find braking will help in performing tricks better, but if you're a casual player, you'll find yourself bailing less! Braking can be activated with space if you're on keyboard, or left trigger on controller. This should hopefully address most concerns to do with riding at high speeds, and you should feel more control with your rider now! The update is out now on Steam, Xbox & Game Pass!



We've also redone & adjusted the steepness of all the biomes to fit a little better with the new braking system. You can expect some trails to be a bit longer, and you'll find some extra props along some of the tracks (don't crash). We're also adjusting the tutorial & other UI elements to fit the new braking system.



Of course, we've got a bunch of bug fixes coming your way in this update too! Here's the full list of changes:

Major features:

• Braking added to the game by pressing LT (controller)/Space (keyboard)
  
• Changes to the off-piste generation (less steep and longer trails)
  
• Acceleration tweaks to initial velocity
  

Minor features:

• World map lines show possible next levels
  
• Random area spawns (no longer spawn right on top of each other)
  
• Toggle UI during pause and bail state
  
• Show Time or Score during Race and SlopeStyle post-game
  
• Pause and Finish camera angles
  

Audio/SFX updates:

• Several UI interactions added
  

Bug fixes:

• Pagoda grind objective fix
  
• Kage mountain spawn issue
  
• Kita mountain shed wall glitch
  
• Objectives no longer disappear when bailing
  
• No longer count safe zone REP with session
  
• Prompt to perform Mute trick fix
  
• Menu no longer active in background during run
  
• Cloud sync fixes
  
• Fix for infinite skidding points on Mountainboard
  
• No longer negative health on big bails
  

Once again, thank you all for the support so far! Be sure to keep sending in your thoughts and feedback - the best way to do this is through our Discord!

If you haven't already, we would also love if you could leave us a review, we would love to hear your thoughts and how much you're enjoying the new update!

We'll see you out on the slopes!

[p]Hey everyone![/p][p][/p][p]We’ve had an incredible first week of Descenders Next being in early access. Over 500,000 of you have jumped onto the slopes and grind down the highlands. We can’t believe half a million of you have already joined us on this journey and we can’t wait to go through early access together making Descenders Next the best game it can be!

We’re working hard on the main bits of feedback you’ve bought to us so far and we’ll have some more news very soon about the addition of brakes and the speed across the game.

If you've enjoyed playing Descenders Next so far, we'd really appreciate it if you could leave a review on Steam. It helps us immensely!

However, in the meantime, we’ve just dropped a big bug fixing patch on Steam to help iron out some of those post launch niggles.

You can find the full patch notes below:[/p][p] [/p][p]v0.4.38 Changelog:[/p]

• [p]Boss Runs: Top node info fell off screen when hovering over it, now fixed[/p]
• [p]Boss Runs: Time of day now won't change by backtracking over nodes[/p]
• [p]Boss Runs: Access would sometimes be prevented, should no longer be the case[/p]
• [p]Audio: People respawning next to you no longer briefly play their movement sound[/p]
• [p]Bails: The button combination to manually bail is now only for devs[/p]
• [p]Networking: The game should now boot correctly in offline mode (PC)[/p]
• [p]Languages: Simplified Chinese font updated[/p]
• [p]Customization: Grid size fixed on SteamDeck (player would go over the grid)[/p]
• [p]Newsfeed: Links can now be opened again[/p]
• [p]Newsfeed: Can now display multiple news items again[/p]
• [p]Tutorials: Reset tutorial option in the Extras menu[/p]
• [p]Gameplay: Scatter spawn points added to parks/races, people no longer always spawn on top of each other[/p]
• [p]Bails: The bail screen now has a 'hide UI' button, for nicer screenshots[/p]
• [p]Newsfeed: Added the option to make platform specific news items[/p]
• [p]Boss Runs: Lots of sound effects added[/p]
• [p]Remove Force Bail (from Settings Bindings)[/p]
• [p]Tweak Skidding trick score[/p]
• [p]Off pistes now have scattered start locations.[/p]
• [p]PC: Save system now differentiates between which player is logged in.[/p]
• [p]Remote player board SFX tweaked/updated.[/p]
• [p]Fixed: UI malfunction when buying gear while offline.[/p]
• [p]Fixed: Race Time being Medal time but Medal not obtained.[/p]
• [p]Fixed: Explore Biome Achievement not redeeming.[/p]
• [p]Fixed: Controller Rumble during gameplay.[/p]
• [p]Fixed: Customization UI fixes.[/p]
• [p]Fixed: Objectives in manic mines and masami mountain.[/p]
• [p]Fixed: Localization canyon creek.[/p]
• [p]Fixed: Stats for top levels in Boss Runs going off screen.[/p]
• [p]Fixed: Team objective line length.[/p]
• [p]Fixed: Kita Mountain river gap.[/p]
• [p]Fixed: Boss Runs: Top node info fell off screen when hovering over it (again)[/p]
• [p]Fixed: Not finishing when pausing while going over the finish line[/p]
• [p]Fixed: Hair color being reset when changing your Avatar Icon[/p]
• [p]Fixed: Claiming and equipping rewarded gear when gear is not of the current sport[/p]
• [p]Fixed : World map scroll functionality for Mouse & Keyboard + Changed zoom input to match the indicator text[/p]
• [p]Fixed: World map Team Objective Behaviour[/p]
• [p]Fixed: Session Summary is now faster[/p]
• [p]Fixed: Save files being shared by different accounts when using the same device[/p]
• [p]Fixed: Rebinding showing the wrong bindings[/p]
• [p]Fixed: Rebinding Conflicts[/p]
• [p]Fixed: Offline mode errors[/p]
• [p]Feature: Fill in a default Replay name[/p]
• [p]Feature: World map now shows lines to possible nodes when selecting a node[/p]

[p] [/p][p]Catch you on the slopes!

- Ragesquid and No More Robots xoxo[/p]