Gang Beasts News

Gang Beasts patch 1.23 is releasing today for all currently supported platforms. 



There are a number of bug fixes in the 1.23 release but no new stages or costumes. The key modification to the game in this build is the implementation of Unity’s Addressables Asset System, the adoption of this system standardises and optimises the process for testing and releasing game content. 

The Addressables implementation is a significant modification to the game and we expect the 1.23 build to trigger some limited stability issues on Windows, macOS, and Linux platforms. The instructions for fixing this issue are:

Windows:

• Open File Explorer
  
• Go to this path replacing 'YourUser' with the users name on the computer you are playing on - C:\Users\YourUser\AppData\LocalLow\Boneloaf\Gang Beasts
  
• Delete the folder called com.unity.addressables
  

macOS:

• Open Finder
  
• Go to path replacing YourUser with the users name on the mac you are playing on - /Users/YourUser/Library/Application Support/com.Boneloaf.GangBeasts
  
• Delete the folder called com.unity.addressables
  

SteamOS/Linux (including Steam Deck):

• Open Dolphin
  
• Go to this path - /home/deck/.config/unity3d/Boneloaf/Gang Beasts/
  
• Delete the folder called com.unity.addressables
  

If you playing Gang Beasts on a Steam Deck, switch to Desktop Mode first then follow the above SteamOS/Linux steps.

Beware of hostile cephalopods!



The key modifications and fixes made in the 1.23 build are: 

Default

• fixed an issue that could make the Input menu unresponsive
  
• fixed an issue that could stop the trawler from sinking on the trawler stage
  
• fixed an issue that left costume parts on screen after a player has left and online game session
  
• fixed an issue that stopped removed players from respawning in waves
  
• fixed an issue where AI enemies could spawn without rendering
  
• fixed an issue with the train geometry spawning above the tracks on the train stage
  
• fixed some issues that allowed invalid numbers of players in some online game sessions
  
• fixed some issues that could leave players stuck loading into online game sessions
  
• fixed an issue that stopped players starting a new Waves session without manipulating the menu settings
  
• fixed some issues with AI enemies spawning inconsistently
  
• modified the cephalopod tentacles on the aquarium stage to make the targeting of players more aggressive
  
• modified the configuration of spawn volumes on the gondola stage
  
• optimised the length of game loading times with the Addressables Asset System
  
• standardised the listing of game modes in the mode selection menu
  

[h2]Is It a Crane? (Update 1.21.1)[/h2]



Roses are red, Violets are violet, Is It a Crane? It is a Crane! It has been ten full years of cartoon violence since the Gang Beasts 0.0.0 pre-alpha builds were published on Valentines Day 2014. For ten years the foaming masses of Beef City have slowly coagulated into gelatinous agglomerations of hostility, spreading through the grim streets of the Meatropolis.


We're profoundly thankful to have an audience and community for Boneloaf's games and toys and for the miscellaneous scenes of silliness and callous brutality demonstrated in Gang Beasts over the last decade. A glut of technical debt have made it increasingly frustrating and difficult to release frequent fixes and content in the last 2-3 years.

We've been working with Rocket Science and Unity to pass/remove these limitations for some time and expect to build to a more stable release cadence from this year.

[h3]Posts[/h3]

This post gives information on the 1.21.1 stability build (released with this post) and the other builds we expect to release in the coming months. A series of posts with more explicit information on what is being made for Gang Beasts are currently being written for gangbeasts.game. If there are subjects you want information on please send suggestions to Boneloaf on social media or to [email protected].

[h3]1.21.1 (stability)[/h3]

1.21.1 stability build is the second stability release since Rocket Science took on support for a glut of important systems (builds, online, UI, and others) in February last year. The 1.21.1 build addresses a number of stability and performance issues and also has some small cosmetic modifications and standardisations, see the key modifications and fixes section at the end of the post for information.

[h3]Other Builds[/h3]

The 1.21.1 build is the first of 4 builds expected to release in the first 3-6 months of 2024.

The next build to follow the 1.21.1 build is the Addressables Asset System build, addressables support has been implemented to optimise the testing and distribution of game content. Followed by an interactables build introducing a modified interactables system needed for the crane stage. Finishing with the crane stage which will release with some miscellaneous costumes.

[h3]Crane[/h3]



The crane stage is a ginormous shipping container crane from the mouldering Beef City Docks with cabin controls for operating the crane, and some truculent and aggressive birds.

Crane includes the first version of new dynamic AI navigation system, this system will facilitate some planned modification to character and escalation AI and potentially support escalations that minimise some stage and game mode exploits, don't upset the birds! Be warned!

Crane also introduces the first version of a new “drivable” system, this system supports players to get into the driver's seat of the crane cab and control the crane mechanism.

Stay safe, wear a hard hat!

The key modifications and fixes in patch 1.21.1 are:

• fixed an issue that made the cephalopod tentacles fail to pass the surface of the water on aquarium
  
• fixed an issue with the sand text on the fish helmet costume part
  
• fixed an issue with game cameras not blurring when pause menus are invoked
  
• fixed some issues that stall loading for some online game modes
  
• fixed an issue that stalls loading for online game modes if moving to a second account on hardware with multiple account support
  
• fixed an issue that stalls loading for online game modes if an internet connection is not available
  
• fixed an issue that triggers duplicates of the "2124-3001 Account error" message in some contexts
  
• fixed an issue that made loading a second stage longer in some game modes
  
• fixed an error that compromised the remapping of the x/y axis on game controllers
  
• fixed an error that conflated the pooling systems for the gang and football online game modes
  
• fixed an issue that made the default game menu fail to show in some contexts
  
• fixed an issue that made particle systems render erroneously on towers
  
• fixed some issues that compromise frame rate in some contexts
  
• added Rocket Science ident to the splash sequence
  
• removed the Coatsink ident from the splash sequence
  
• standardised water shaders on trawler
  
• optimised matchmaking scheme to stabilise online game modes
  

Gang Beasts patch 1.21 is releasing today for all currently supported platforms! The 1.21 patch addresses  a number of miscellaneous issues which will allow us to focus on new content in subsequent updates. The 1.21 build does not include new stages or costumes and is focused on these fixes (see below for more information). 

A new stage and new costumes will be released soon, once we’re confident it is ready and subject to it passing quality assurance.

The key modifications and fixes made in the 1.21 build:  

[h3]General [/h3]
• New languages! We now support Japanese, Korean, Chinese (simplified) and Chinese (traditional).
• New Menu font to improve legibility.
• Tweaked buoyancy physics across all stages that use buoyancy. 
• Improved Tentacles AI on the Aquarium stage. 
• Addressed the problem of players being randomly kicked from local games. 
• Corrected left and right grabs when interacting with objects. 
• Improved stage lighting across all stages. 
• Enhanced football physics to prevent clipping into the ground. 
• Adjusted ball deflation rates in football mode. 
• Updated joints in the stage to AutoJointV2 for improved stability. 

[h3]Costumes [/h3]
• Made various improvements to costume physics. 
• Fixed the Beanie to function properly. 
• Resolved the collider issue with the Life Vest. 
• Fixed collision problems with the Deep Sea Helmet. 

[h3]Stages [/h3]
• Enhanced escalation mechanics in the Aquarium stage. 
• Stability updates to Vents. 
• Increased stability of bricks on Girder. 
• Stability updates to Roof.
• Improved Glass Fracture on Roof. 
• Made improvements to ice breaking on Buoy. 
• Improved Stability to Fence objects on Wheel. 
• Added water to Containers. 
• Stability updates on Subway. 
• Stabilized the antenna on Buoy to reduce excessive shaking of characters and camera. 

[h3]Online[/h3] 
• Fixes to matchmaking in Gang Mode. 

[h2]Issues [/h2]
We’re sorry we didn’t publish more frequent content, fixes, or development information since we released  the Trawler stage in December 2021. A long sequence of technical issues and difficulties have limited our  capacity to publish successive updates since Gang Beasts was fully released. 
However, since the end of 2021 we’ve worked (with partners at Coatsink, Robot Teddy, SuperGenius, Unity, Rocket Science, and Lockit QA) to address technical issues, standardise processes to minimise technical debt and build a platform for more frequent content releases. The rest of this post summarises some of what is being worked on currently.  

[h2]Boneloaf [/h2]
We’ve made a number of key staff hires to supplement resources at Boneloaf and have more in-house  staff working to support Gang Beasts. These hires include a Producer, a Senior Technical Animator, multiple Senior and general Engineering staff, Marketing, Player Support, Event and Operations specialists, and an internal QA team. You can find out more about everyone over here. 

[h2]Coatsink [/h2]
Boneloaf’s agreement with key development partner Coatsink ended at the start of 2023. We want to  thank the staff and management at Coatsink for their support and friendship since 2013 and appreciate  the significant contributions Coatsink staff have made to the development and success of Gang Beasts  and Boneloaf.

[h2]Rocket Science 
[/h2]Since February 2023, Boneloaf has worked closely with Rocket Science. This team brings a glut of resources and experience working with platforms, UX/UI, technical art, tools, and services to the development of Gang Beasts. Currently, staff at Rocket Science are working on a series of important modifications to online systems (to modernise the technology), standardise our build pipelines, implement a new UI system, provide support for game modes, and other systems.

We expected transitioning to a new development partner could be a protracted and disruptive process,  especially transitioning ownership of key development work from third parties, but Rocket Science have  made this process as low friction as they could have. We’re excited to now be in a position where we can give more information on the development and future plans for Gang Beasts.  

[h2]More Beef 
[/h2]Information in this post is limited to Boneloaf, Boneloaf’s partners, and what modifications have been  made since the 1.18 build, with some information on technical issues and the next content release. To keep you more up to date, we’re working on a series of posts to give more specific information on current development and planned content which will give more context on what is being done to support Gang Beasts.  

---

Stay safe, wear a hard hat and don’t carry birdseed!
Boneloaf 

The devs behind flailing fisticuffs multiplayer game Gang Beasts have revealed their hopes to resurrect its predecessor as their next major project, a decade after Boneloaf’s second wobbly wrestling hit took off and derailed their initial plans.

Read more

Boneloaf - the developer behind multiplayer brawler Gang Beasts - is looking to move onto its next game in the near future. According to marketing and communications manager Connor Clarke at Develop 2023, the studio is considering a return to its original project: Grim Beasts.

"Funnily enough, Gang Beasts was always the second game in a trilogy," states Clarke, sitting by the beach last week. "If you search back to the initial post on the Gang Beasts website back in 2013, you’ll see we were working on a game first - I won’t point it out, I’ll let you try and find out what it is - that will be basically the next thing we want to work on."

Doing exactly that won't provide blog posts on the official website, which appear to be missing as of writing. However, if you do dive into the past you will uncover results for Grim Beasts. Several gameplay demos exist - many of which will seem very familiar to Gang Beasts players. There's even an old Twitter account, long abandoned since 2015.

Read more