Storebound News

[h2]Hello Shoppers![/h2][p][/p][h3]Storebound is featured in the new Steam Next Fest that just went live! Head over to our demo page and download the Storebound demo to play now![/h3][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p]If you have already shopped with us, thank you! Everyone who played the demo already and gave feedback helped us to find bugs and tune up balancing. [/p][p]If you haven't shopped with us before, welcome![/p][p]We’re Embers, the studio behind Murky Divers, and we’re back with our new game: Storebound. With Steam Next Fest, we’re happy to finally share the game with many new shoppers.[/p][p]With this demo, we’re offering a glimpse into the mall — a fragment of the story within the larger experience of the full game. You can play solo, or together with up to 2 friends. Depending on how many times it takes you to venture through the mall, the demo generally has about thirty minutes to an hour of content.[/p][p][/p][h3] What is Storebound?
[/h3][p]Storebound is a 1-3 player co-op horror game. Play as ordinary shoppers trapped in an accursed megastore. Find the exit together at all costs before the employees catch you.[/p][p]Team up with friends to escape a store that wants you to shop forever. Plan your next move using proximity voice chat and walkie-talkies. Piece together environmental clues and decode cryptic notes to find your next destination. [/p][p]Split up and look for whatever may help you escape. Search the mall for tools and items, and make sure you can slip away when danger comes. Solve puzzles to unlock new paths, hopefully guiding you to an exit.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]When the lights go out, employees are on the look out for shoppers who need "assistance" after hours. Cut communications to stay silent, or risk getting caught. Hide in vents, progress without making noise, use flashlights to fight the darkness but be careful as the batteries are limited.[/p][p]Avoid the mall's traps and aberrations, they will gnaw at your mind until you can't trust what you see or do. Every error might lead the store's abominations straight to you. Find fuses to turn the lights back on and hopefully start a new day.[/p][p]If you're ready to start shopping, join the Discord now! There you can find others to shop with.[/p][p]Storebound Discord[/p][p]You can report bugs and leave feedback on Discord, or in this thread here on Steam. We'll be listening on Discord and Steam and looking for any issues that pop up, so please ask any questions you have! Here's a few we've received already many times and their answers.[/p][p][/p][p]Q: How many players is Storebound? Can I play solo?[/p][p]A: Storebound is 1 to 3 players, and you can play solo![/p][p][/p][p]Q: 3 is too low, will you add the option for 4 players or even larger teams?[/p][p]A: We do not have plans currently to make the team size larger than 3. We've play tested before and decided that 3 was the optimal experience, and we prefer 3 people having fun rather than a larger group getting bored. That being said, we've gotten this request a lot. Down the line when the development team has time to add this, it is something we will consider.

Q: Can I turn off the pixel/grain filter?[/p][p]A: We know this filter can make some players woozy, so the team is working on a setting so you can lower and turn off the grainy filter entirely. It will not be available in the demo, but we will work on it for early access launch.

Q: Is there a setting to increase FOV?[/p][p]A: We are working on a setting for this one as well, and it will be implemented for early access launch.

Q: Is Storebound going to have procedurally generated maps outside of the demo?[/p][p]A: No, Storebound is more adventure and puzzle focused than our previous title Murky Divers. It plays closer to a game like Zort and we are planning different episodes that take you through different parts of the megastore. We think this is the best type of experience we can deliver. We prefer giving you an optimal linear experience rather than something not as fun.

Q: How much will Storebound cost?[/p][p]A: Under $10! Might even be in the $6-$8 range.

Q: Will Storebound come to consoles?
A: We have no plans for this at this time. We will need a successful Steam launch for this to happen so we are doing all we can to make Storebound a great game!
[/p][p]We hope you enjoy playing the demo during Steam Next Fest! Once you play, please consider leaving a review on the demo page. Yes, you can leave reviews on demos now! Leave a Wishlist for Storebound as well. Both reviews and Wishlists really help Storebound grow it's audience on Steam.

We look forward to shopping with you.
Nikko
Community Manager

[/p]

[h3]Hello shoppers![/h3][p] Thank you to everyone who has played the demo so far and left a review. We have taken the time to look over all the player feedback to find ways to improve the game. Yesterday, we put a new patch live that adjusts the overall difficulty of Storebound and should help to make your time shopping a much smoother experience! [/p][p]Demo Patch 2 Changes:[/p]

• [p]The running speed of the employees has been reduced.[/p]
  • [p]Often times we noticed that there was not adequate time to find a hiding spot when the employee began their chase. Reducing the speed should help give a few more seconds so you can scramble into a hiding spot. [/p]
• [p]Employees now make more noise and the volume of the noise has been increased.[/p]
• [p]If an employee teleports to a player, it will now teleport at a further distance to avoid spawning on top of player.[/p]
  • [p]We saw many reports of our employees landing on top of players when teleporting, which likely ruined a perfectly good shopping experience. Employees will now give a bit of distance when spawning near you. With the other changes, this should give you a bigger window to react and hide.[/p]
• [p]Employees will now spend more time in low tension mode (patrolling hallways and roaming to new areas), and less time in high tension mode (when it's in alert, looking for nearby players).[/p]
  • [p]This will give you a better feeling of creeping around employees, instead of the more constant chase that employees tend to default to.[/p]
• [p]Player stamina reduces slower when sprinting, and fills up faster.[/p]
  • [p]This will help when being chased, but will also help when navigating the map and back tracking to solve puzzles.[/p]
• [p]Opening hours have been extended.[/p]
  • [p]This means more time in the light! This should also make turning back on the lights more valuable, since your time to explore peacefully will be extended.[/p]

[p]These changes should make your shopping experience less frustrating, while still keeping a good sense of tension.

We've also heard feedback on the pixel filter effect and requests for an FOV slider. We are planning on implementing settings for both of these to give players more control over the visuals, but they will not be implemented until Early Access.

If you haven't already, please consider leaving us a review on Storebound's demo page! It really does help us out a great deal.

[dynamiclink][/dynamiclink]See you next time, shoppers!
Nikko
Community Manager[/p]

[h2]Hello shoppers!
[/h2][p]Thank you to everyone who has played the demo for Storebound so far. We are looking over all of the feedback we have received to improve the game, starting with a new patch that is out right now!
[/p][h3]If you haven't already, please consider leaving a review for the Storebound demo!
[/h3][p]It really does help us out, and more importantly we are reading every review to help us improve the game. You can leave your review on the Storebound demo page here:

[dynamiclink][/dynamiclink]Also, consider joining the Discord where you can meet others to play with and ask the devs your questions.

Storebound Discord

Here's what we fixed in our first patch:
• Many soft-locks have been fixed. Please continue to report these so we can fix them ASAP!
• Improved clarity of objectives and guidance in the environment to improve gameplay flow.
• Scourge has been tuned to be slightly less aggressive in the last portion of the demo.
• An invite friends button has been added to the pause menu.
• Fixed the issue that made players get stuck inside their own shoulder.

Currently Unresolved Issues:
• Voice Chat: We have identified problems with in-game voice chat and are working on a fix.
• There is an issue where after all party members die the game freezes, needing a restart. We are still working on a fix.

Please continue to report issues here or on our Discord.

Thank you again to everyone who has played!

See you next time, shoppers.
Nikko
Community Manager[/p]

[h3]Hello shoppers![/h3][h3]The demo for Storebound is live NOW! Go play the demo here:

[dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/h3][p]Storebound also just had brand new trailer in Indie Fan Fest. Check out the trailer!
[/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p]The team has been hard at work on Storebound, so we are happy to finally share the game with you with something you can play.

This demo offers a glimpse into the mall — a fragment of the story within the larger experience of the full game. Play solo, or together with up to 2 friends. Depending on how many times it takes you to venture through the mall, the demo generally has about thirty minutes to an hour of content.

Storebound Discord

If you are looking for fellow shoppers to play with, you can join the official Storebound Discord. There you can find folks to play with, report bugs, talk about the demo, and stay up to date on development.

We are going to be monitoring feedback to make improvements and target issues. Many of you are wondering when the game will launch. Currently we are still considering when to bring the game into early access, so we'll be using the response to the demo to help us make that decision. We'll be back in future updates to give you new information about when early access launch will happen!
[/p][p]See you later, shoppers.
Nikko
Community Manager[/p]

[p]Hello shoppers![/p][p]
Storebound will have a brand new trailer in the upcoming Indie Fan Fest next Wednesday, September 24th! The showcase will go live at 9 AM PST.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]We will also be announcing some news about an upcoming demo for Storebound that time as well.[/p][p]The team has been hard at work on Storebound, and we can't wait for you to see what we have been cooking up. During Indie Fan Fest, we will also give an update on the state of development and what we're working on.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]We've been quiet as we have been trying to make Storebound the best experience it can be, so stay tuned for more.[/p][p]See you then!
Nikko
Community Manager[/p]