Escape Simulator 2 News

[p]We’ve just pushed a small hotfix for the Holiday Update🎄[/p][p]This update focuses on polishing the Christmas rooms, fixing a few gameplay blockers, and improving some details in the lobby and Room Editor. Thanks for all the reports, they really help us smooth things out.
[/p][p]The full changelog is here: [/p][p]Room Editor[/p]

• [p]Added additional Christmas props[/p]

[p]Core[/p]

• [p]Fixed an issue where exiting to menu could not be declined in Darkest rooms[/p]

[p]Lobby[/p]

• [p]Token Jigsaw puzzles no longer start scrambled[/p]
• [p]Fixed Christmas object reflections in mirrors[/p]

[p]Christmas Room[/p]

• [p]Cookie delivery now triggers after the first dialogue line[/p]
• [p]Fixed turkey slot issue[/p]
• [p]Added missing item names[/p]
• [p]Fixed various colliders and navmesh issues[/p]
• [p]Fixed books spawning open in their slots[/p]

[p]Christmas Darkest Room[/p]

• [p]Fixed an issue where dropped items would respawn[/p]
• [p]Fixed books spawning open in their slots[/p]

[p]The Feast[/p]

• [p]Fixed an issue where no player would enter the dome[/p]

[p][/p][p]-Pine team[/p]

[p]Hey everyone, [/p][p]The holidays are here, and we’ve got a little gift for you! 🎁 [/p][p]We just released a brand new cozy holiday escape room, playable solo or with friends. It’s inspired by classic Christmas movies and full of warm lighting, festive details, and that relaxed winter vibe. A short, comfy escape made to be enjoyed together. [/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p]This room is our virtual holiday card to all 300,000 of you already escaping in ES2. Thank you! 💌
[/p][h3]🎄What’s in the Holiday Update:[/h3]

• [p]A new holiday themed room [/p]
• [p]A new Darkest puzzle[/p]
• [p]New festive outfits[/p]
• [p]A new festive soundtrack[/p]
• [p]100+ new holiday props for the Room Editor, perfect for building your own cozy winter escapes[/p]

[h3]
🛠️ Room Editor updates[/h3][p]We also shipped a bunch of fixes and improvements to the Room Editor, focusing on stability and quality of life. The full changelog is available at the end of this post.
[/p][p]And if you’re looking for great community rooms, don’t forget that there’s now a Build-a-Room Winners category in game, where you can quickly jump into all the winning rooms from our last competition.[/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][h3]🎁 Holiday Sale [/h3][p]One more thing before you go.
Escape Simulator is on sale! You can grab Escape Simulator 1 with 40% off and Escape Simulator 2 with 20% off, (or both games in a bundle deal!) which makes it a great last minute gift for friends or family you want to escape with.[/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p]Happy holidays, and enjoy escaping together! [/p][p]- Pine team [/p][p][/p][h3]Full Changelog v17103:[/h3][p]Room Editor: [/p]

• [p]Added new Christmas themed props[/p]
• [p]Added a Line connection type option with tweakable settings[/p]
• [p]Fixed Line connection scaling[/p]
• [p]Improved Lua safety by checking 0 index usage when defining array variables[/p]
• [p]Removed the unnecessary “None” option when selecting light cookies or sprite sheet textures for Displays[/p]
• [p]Fixed and cleaned up some prop names[/p]
• [p]Fixed transparent material rendering on Displays[/p]

[p]Core:[/p]

• [p]Fixed an issue where some custom rooms would fail to load[/p]
• [p]Disabled level saving and drop-in multiplayer on rooms that use Lua scripts to prevent issues[/p]
• [p]Fixed model count jumping when loading custom rooms with custom models[/p]

[p]Lobby:[/p]

• [p]Fixed custom level collection ordering[/p]
• [p]Improved error messages when failing to join a Steam lobby [/p]

[h2]Build-a-Room Competition[/h2][p]
We just wrapped up our first ES2 Build-a-room competition, and the results are incredible.
We received 112 submissions, far more than we expected, and the creativity on display was amazing. This was our very first competition, and we already plan to run the second one soon.[/p][p]After many hours of testing and discussion, here are the results:
[/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p][/p][h2]🥇 First place – Going Home by kukelia & Frama[/h2][p]Kukeli and Frama did it again! This room takes home 5000 USD, our biggest competition prize so far![/p][p][/p][p]Stranded after a catastrophic malfunction, your spacecraft crashes into the remnants of an ancient alien civilization. A cinematic story mixed with unique language-based puzzles creates a powerful and memorable experience.[/p][p][/p][h2]🥈 Second place – Meltdown by Duc[/h2][p][/p][p]Explore an abandoned nuclear facility and prevent a full reactor meltdown. Strong atmosphere, creative tasks, and striking brutalist architecture define this room from start to finish.
[/p][h2]🏅 Finalists (in no particular order)[/h2][p]Love&Escape by namo_krub[/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink]You become the star of a chaotic 1950s TV show. Playful, surprising, and full of varied puzzles that keep the pacing quick and fun. [/p][p][/p][p]Still life by Dr Krank[/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink]A surreal journey through paintings that spring to life as you follow your grandmother’s trail. Artistic environments and unusual puzzle ideas make this one special. [/p][p][/p][p]Call of the Deep by Benny Lane (environment) & Jack Bell (scripting)[/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink]Descend into a sunken temple and manipulate ancient energy streams with intricate, evolving puzzles. Perfect for players who enjoy deep logic challenges.[/p][p][/p][p]The Hidden Handrawn Hideaway by Objitude[/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink]Explore a mysterious manor filled with hidden layers and dimension shifts, built entirely with custom hand-painted assets.[/p][p][/p][p]Pirates End by Mr_ Tesseract_(:[/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink]A treasure hunt on a forgotten pirate island, created entirely with the standard ES2 props. Balanced pacing and classic puzzle design make this a joy to play.[/p][p][/p][p]Shadowed by CharredButter[/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink] A clever set of light-based puzzles that make great use of ES2’s lighting engine.[/p][p][/p][p]Token Demon by Ariel [/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink]A humorous, cinematic twist on token hunting, built around one of Escape Simulator’s most iconic mechanics.[/p][p][/p][p]Hunter by Cico [/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink]Lost in the woods and trapped in a decaying cabin, you uncover a dark story through tense atmosphere and dynamic events.[/p][p][/p][p]Synchrony (Co-Op) by Ravn
[dynamiclink][/dynamiclink]A sci-fi co-op adventure where two players must work in sync to escape a time loop. Fresh synchronized puzzle ideas and clever timing challenges define this room.[/p][p][/p][h2]✨ Honorable mentions[/h2][p]
There were so many great rooms that couldn’t fit into our top list, and each one brought something special to the competition. The creativity across all submissions was impressive, and we want to highlight a few that stood out in their own way: Keeper of the Lost Light, Ascending Valhalla, Captured by the Lock Witch, Witch House, Overslept – A Wizarding Escape, Abduckted (probably the best intro scene), and 12 Candles.[/p][p][/p][p]All winning rooms are now available in the game, and you’ll find them in a new Build-a-room Winners tab for easy access. [/p][p][/p][h2]🎄 Festive surprise[/h2][p]We also have a gift for everyone! On December 16, we’re releasing a brand new holiday-themed escape room inspired by classic Christmas movies. Cosy, warm, and full of seasonal details. Here’s a small sneak peek ;) [/p][p][/p][p][/p][h2]🎁 Winter sale[/h2][p]Escape Simulator 2 is now on its first discount. You can get it 20 percent off, a nice Christmas gift for anyone who enjoys puzzles.[/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][h2]🛠️ Room Editor update[/h2][p]The room editor is still in beta and we’re improving it every week. Over the past few weeks we fixed more than 100 issues, added new features, and polished many interactions.[/p][p]Today we’re releasing another update. You can check the full changelog down below.[/p][p]Community rooms can get very complex. Some use LUA scripts, custom props, or large logic networks, which can sometimes affect saves or drop-in multiplayer. We’re improving these systems with every patch and plan to keep the updates coming at a steady pace. Thanks for your patience and understanding! [/p][p][/p][p]Update v17849 changelog: [/p][p]• Improved light performance with a new Light Fade Distance option [/p][p]• Added incremental shadow calculation for smoother lighting [/p][p]• New shadow render modes: Optimized and Every Frame[/p][p]• Better support for explicit transparency in materials [/p][p]• Improved saving and drop-in stability for custom rooms [/p][p]• Restored OnReturn event for Flip Animation and Flip Button[/p][p]• Added dashed connection lines to make object links easier to read [/p][p]• Added loading progress feedback when opening rooms in the editor[/p][p][/p][p]Happy escaping!

- Pine team


[/p]

[p]Dear escapers,
thanks for all the feedback over the past weeks. We’ve been focused on improving the Room Editor, and this update brings a long list of fixes and updates for it, with more coming in the next patch. A quick reminder that the editor is still in beta, so you might run into some issues with saves or drop-in multiplayer.[/p][p]While you explore the changes, the first Build-a-Room competition is reaching the finish line. We’ll announce the winners on December 10th during a live stream, along with more Escape Simulator 2 news so stay tuned. ;) [/p][p][/p][h3] Core[/h3][p]• More stable co-op connections when the host has high ping[/p][p]• Shader compilation is now more reliable on low-spec PCs[/p][p]• Improved performance on low-spec Intel CPUs[/p][p]• Added “Open Game Log” in Advanced Options for easier log sharing (Tnx XenoJiiva for the idea!)[/p][p][/p][h3]Lobby[/h3][p]• Improved level picker stability for community rooms[/p][p]• More reliable drop-in for community rooms[/p][p]• Fixed an issue with gamepad input in the level picker menu[/p][p][/p][h3]Room Editor[/h3][p]• Improved several prop colliders and made them more rigid[/p][p]• Fixed light cookies not working in published rooms[/p][p]• Code editor input is now disabled when the editor is hidden[/p][p]• Fixed Undo not working after unparenting props[/p][p]• Fixed transform gizmo not appearing due to GPU optimizations[/p][p]• Fog settings now reset when loading a new room[/p][p]• Fixed connection lines disappearing in some cases[/p][p]• Legacy lookables now work correctly in published rooms[/p][p]• Local Only props and behaviours now function as intended[/p][p]• A lock is now checked only once when hit multiple times by the same source[/p][p]• Footsteps using built-in sounds now follow the camera[/p][p]• Fixed circular lock connections triggering multiple times without “Always Call On Unlock” enabled[/p][p]• You can now select a single parent in the Properties panel[/p][p]• Waypoint changes now apply using the correct object scale[/p][p]• Animation and button duration can now be edited without a waypoint[/p][p]• Fixed Slidable initial position scrubber in published rooms[/p][p]• Added “Open Workshop” in Steam overlay and extra rating buttons[/p][p]• Delay can now target locks[/p][p]• .PNG and .png are now both supported in the asset browser[/p][p]• Tick animations/buttons now respect the “Hidden on Return” setting[/p][p]• Reject keys can now be set as the initial key[/p][p]• New option: gizmo movement with snapping now aligns to the room grid[/p][p]• Polygon tool adjusts correctly based on camera distance[/p][p]• Dragging polygon vertices now accounts for initial cursor offset[/p][p]• Fixed empty textures appearing in asset browser tabs[/p][p]• Improved transparency options in the material editor[/p][p]• Better display behavior for held items[/p][p]• Custom Model Animations now handle animation states more reliably[/p][p]• Restarting a custom level now properly shows room name and preview image[/p][p]• Added a 'Respawn timing' option and a 'Respawn all items' checkmark for Item Respawner[/p][p]• Drop-in players now receive correct post-processing and visual effects[/p][p][/p][h3]Critical Issues[/h3][p]• Corrected fire extinguisher name typo[/p][p][/p][h3]-Pine team[/h3]

[p]We’ve just pushed out a new hotfix with a bunch of improvements across the game and the Room Editor. Stability is better, custom rooms run smoother, and we cleaned up several level issues along the way. Thanks to everyone sending us reports and videos, it really helps us track things down.
[/p][h3]Build-a-Room Competition[/h3][p]The Build-a-room competition has officially wrapped up and you absolutely crushed it. We received 112 submissions! Thank you Builders for creating so many clever, beautiful and huge rooms. Some of you went all-in with gigantic and complex designs that pushed the Room Editor to its limits. Because of that you actually helped us uncover issues we wouldn’t have seen otherwise.

[/p][p]Over the next few weeks we’ll focus on improving the Room Editor and community rooms. This hotfix is a part of that effort. Just a small reminder that the editor is still in beta so thank you for your patience! 🙏

We already started reviewing all rooms but with so many entries we’ll need a bit more time. Our plan is to announce the winners on December 10th. More details soon.
[/p][h3]Gameplay[/h3]

• [p]Fixed an issue where the in-game timer kept running while paused.[/p]
• [p]Fixed inverted mouse not applying while in pose view.[/p]
• [p]Fixed reject slot animations not finishing at the correct rotation.[/p]
• [p]Fixed large save files from big custom levels causing Steam connection crashes.[/p]
• [p]Fixed carriable items disappearing if a player left the session while holding them.[/p]
• [p]Fixed lobby failing to load when internet drops during single-player sessions.[/p]
• [p]Minor fixes across several official levels.
  [/p]

[h3]Room Editor[/h3]

• [p]Added control over Light cookie size for directional lights.[/p]
• [p]Added an easy way to compress custom 3D models to optimize rooms.[/p]
• [p]Added a new Lookable type: Distance & Angle.[/p]
• [p]Expanded Text logic prop with custom fonts, alignment, outline and more settings.[/p]
• [p]Added an option for Slots to reuse the same eject animation for accepted and rejected keys.[/p]
• [p]Added the ability to select an empty texture when choosing materials.[/p]
• [p]Logic props now collide with each other when placed, helping with stacking.[/p]
• [p]Waypoint editing now leaves a ghost marker behind for smoother placement.[/p]
• [p]Light prop no longer casts shadows by default, with a performance warning.[/p]
• [p]Building tab sections are now collapsible.[/p]
• [p]Improved Lock password input UX.[/p]
• [p]Optimized performance for animated custom models.[/p]
• [p]GPU optimizations in custom rooms are now far less aggressive and can be adjusted with more precision.[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue where props without behaviour could not be accessed in Lua.[/p]
• [p]Fixed several prop colliders.[/p]
• [p]Fixed items spawning at (0, 0, 0) when dropped over UI while dragging.[/p]
• [p]Improved tooltips for several logic props.[/p]
• [p]Fixed duplicated objects with Animation or Button not receiving a correct waypoint.[/p]
• [p]Fixed legacy Lookable not triggering at 100 percent screen threshold.[/p]
• [p]Fixed changelog not clearing when switching rooms.
  [/p]

[h3]Levels[/h3]

• [p]Fixed Dracula Darkest 2 color blind issue.[/p]
• [p]Fixed Dracula Darkest 3 FOV issue. [/p]
• [p]Something is unlocked now.[/p]
• [p]Applied a small puzzle fix in Dracula Darkest 3.[/p]
• [p]Fixed LOD issue in Pirates 3.[/p]
• [p]Fixed a game breaking issue when a client disconnected while holding a carriable item.[/p]
• [p]Fixed Space 2 plasma puzzle.[/p]
• [p]Fixed lobby book name. [/p]

[p] Pine team ("The Thugs")[/p]