Keep It Running: Together News

Development on the game is still according to schedule and the Beta is nice and stable.
There have been loads of small (and some big) improvements to the gameplay, tutorial and interfaces, based on the feedback I've gotten so far.

Keep it coming! And thanks to everyone whom has helped beta test the game so far :)

I'm currently awaiting the approval of the current game build from Valve, after that I can set up a demo for Steam Next Fest in June. This will be a free demo that is playable during Next Fest, in which you'll be able to do the first 2 or 3 shifts in the game.

Release is still set for 23th of June 2025. There will be a launch discount too, going into Summer Sale.

So make sure to WISHLIST to get notified when the demo and launch go live!

Twitch Integration and Proximity Voice Chat:
I hadn't talked about these two things yet and after lots of rigorous (stress-)testing I can confidently say Twitch integration as well as the ingame voice chat work very well.

The voice chat holds up even with 4 players on bad internet connections and the quality stays good.

Twitch integration currently only consists of a bunch of chat commands, that can be (de)activated by the streamer in the main- and pause menu. I'm looking into support for Bits, Cheers and Subscriptions too. You know, to give streamers some extra support. I like giving back!

If you have any ideas or suggestions regarding these things do let me know in the comments, in Discussions or on the Discord.

I've been able to get a lot of implementation, testing and fixing done the past week. Even did a 4-player stress test of the game yesterday with great success.

Now with the game in version 0.5.0.2 it is officially in Beta with all major features implemented.
Some of these features require further polishing and expanding upon still, but I want to get more feedback on the core gameplay before I accidentally make any wrong changes. The basis has to be near perfect, so I can build all the extra stuff on a solid foundation :)

Let me know if you're a content creator and want access to the beta test!
Bug reports and suggestions can be made either in the game's Steam Discussions forum or on our Discord.
Discussions: https://steamcommunity.com/app/3448380/discussions/

Discord: https://discord.gg/vV7KDVMBZz


Update Panel:
For the beta test I've added a panel to the main- and pause menu's so you can see what changed in the current version. In this screenshot you can also see the first bit of the updated Guide, which (hopefully) helps players with understanding the game mechanics:


The Mine:
I'm also still working on the Mine, which has been completely revamped. Now it's more of a simple maze with multiple connections and exits. The actual exit is randomized with the others boarded off:

And the open exit, which spawns you back into the Factory:

I still need to implement the chase mechanic. The Competitor will start chasing you as soon as you leave the main area where you spawn in:

I also want to add some minigame to this main area, there is a reason the Competitor stole you away from the Boss after all! Perhaps a mining minigame which allows players to get a bucket extra coal? This could be a useful way to get more coal in case you run out of the coal that is in the Factory.

The Demon:
The Clockwork Demon is also mostly complete, I only need to add the final bit to its mechanic where it'll chase and kill the players after having destroyed all the lights in the Factory. Here you can see him mess with the Generator, it is possible to deter him from doing this with the lanterns, just like in the first game:


That's all for now!

Looking forward to your feedback and thanks in advance for helping improve the game

Work on the game progresses steadily and I'm preparing to start the Closed Beta. This means all major features are implemented and the Factory map is finished sans minor details. The Mine section of the game may require a bit more work but I want to see how people react to what I currently have made and with that feedback I can take further steps to improving the game.

Closed Beta keys: Beta keys are available to content creators that want to help promote, test and improve the game. You absolutely don't need to be a QA expert, but I do expect some feedback :)
Let me know if you're interested!

The game is stable currently as we've done a lot of testing and bug-fixing, though no doubt there are still many (minor) bugs to fix in the Beta.
I've also improved and expanded further upon many areas of the original game as well as the new game and a couple things I mentioned in my last news post have been improved further.

New Main Menu:
The main menu has been revamped and now looks like this:

You'll notice there's a 'Guide' section, which has scribbles made by the player character that explain the various mechanics of the game and give small hints on the various creatures that roam the Factory.

New Difficulty Stages:
The difficulty stages are no longer easy/medium/hard, but more stages much akin to the 6 days of the original game. The reason for this a smoother growing difficulty curve. During testing we found that the steps between easy/medium/hard were too big and jarring. Also didn't feel as rewarding.

The various difficulty stages are designed for 1 player, but the difficulty of certain elements in the game will increase if more players join the team so that the difficulty feels the same despite being with more people.

Speaking of rewards, when the shift ends with a completed quota, you will greeted with a list of rewards the Boss has granted you. You will unlock new difficulty stages, new things to do, new outfits and who knows what else in the future :)
I may add some fun challenges for extra special rewards too, but I'm still figuring that out. Ideas/suggestions, as always, are most welcome.

New Toys:
I've finished making the second toy: the cursed Teddy. These nasty critters, when awakened, will steal your tools and place them in various locations within the Factory:

Work on the final toy, the cursed Caterpillar, has begun so all three toy types will be in the Beta. Same for the Clockwork Demons.

New "QTE" Minigame:
One feedback I got from viewers of our testing session streams is that the repair mechanic was lacking and that a minigame may make it more fun. After some pondering I implemented a simple "QTE"-like mechanic for repairing machinery and it indeed makes it a lot more fun and stressful!
It looks a bit ugly still but works great.
Starting the minigame:

Succeeding makes the repair start, failing means you'll have to try again if you so choose:


Toy Parts and the Conveyor Belts:
I've made a change to the end of the conveyor belts so that any toy parts that reach the end will be moved into a separate container, instead of falling onto and messing up the boxes.
This fixes a rather frustrating physics issue with the boxes and the toy parts, making it really hard to properly place down a box. It also makes it easier to gather the toy parts to put them back onto the belt:

[h3]Development Progress:[/h3]
I'm making swift progress on developing the game and am happy to report that Alpha testing is going really well. I'm fleshing out features and gameplay mechanics from the first game so they work better in a co-op context and am improving them where needed. Needless to say Together will be a big upgrade from the first Keep It Running in many ways.

The Factory:
Of course the Factory is much bigger, now with 2 boilers, 2 engines and 7 machines on 3 production lines in total:

There's two steam engines: one to deliver power to the lights and machinery and the other to actually drive the machinery. These engines can actually break and will need fixing with the wrench, just like the production machines. Furthermore the Toys and Demons can mess things up, but players will be given ways to deter them.


Progression and Unlockables:
Now with a much bigger factory and more things to deal with I've pondered hard on overall gameplay progression:

There will be a "tutorial" difficulty mode in which there is no Boss or other monsters and you are given much more time to get to grip with the basics of the game.
Though most things are fairly easy to get to grips with, due to the overall improvements I've made, there will be instructions available at all times during gameplay: I'm planning to give players a little handbook which contains instructions on things like filling the boilers with coal, repairing machinery and completing the quotas. This book will possibly also contain notes the player character scribbles down on the various monsters and toys.

The "custom" difficulty also makes a return, allowing players that have unlocked it to fully customize the upcoming shift to their liking, make custom challenges etc.


With every successful shift, with completed quotas, the Boss will reward players with not just harder difficulties with newly unlocked challenges but also... new outfits!

Players will be able to personalize their character with various unlockable clothing items, faces and hairstyles. And yes: there will steampunk outfits too :)

I'm not sure how many outfit items there will be yet, but I'm planning on at least 4 per item type to allow for a good variation of character looks.

Aside from the unlockable difficulties, challenges and outfits I may also add some unlockable tools and such but I'm still pondering on that. Suggestions are welcome, of course.

The Competitor Mines:
There is a new area besides the Factory: the Mines. Once the Competitors start visiting the Factory to steal away players, one may find themselves kidnapped and taken deep underground.

Players will have to escape the Competitor, being chased down by it as you try to find your way out of the dark mine, with only a lantern to guide your way. if you escape you will find yourself back at the Factory so you can continue pleasing the Boss with your diligent work.

At the start of March I'm hoping to have all the major elements implemented and decently tested so we can move forward to... Closed Beta testing!

[h3]The Closed Beta:[/h3]
Though I can test a lot myself with the help of my partner and our main tester I want to do more extensive testing by having others play too.
I know from experience that multiplayer games tend to have a lot of edge cases, often caused by different hardware and internet connections as well as different play styles. Certain bugs we may simply not find until someone else does something very specific that we'd never think to do.

Now, because I want to release a demo for Steam Next Fest in June I do want to ensure a good experience. I am confident we can make this happen ourselves, but I like being thorough :)

Another reason is... promo! I think it would be awesome to get some content creators to get an exclusive early preview going. I already got a few on my list that helped in the past, but am more than willing to add more to said list.
So shoot me a message if you're interested, have an audience and most importantly have some experience with testing work-in-progress games!

[h3]Next Fest and Early Access release:[/h3]
Yep! Keep It Running: Together is registered for Steam Next Fest in June and thus will have a demo available. I will also do one or more livestreams during the event so you can ask me questions and have a chat. Of course this will be further announced with more details when we near June.

As for Early Access:
I've decided to have a 2 to 3 month period in which I can further polish the game based on community feedback and make sure the full release is as bug-free and smooth as it can be. I may also add some new content or features that have been suggested either during Next Fest or during Early Access.

If you have suggestions or thoughts you want to share, absolutely do so in the game's Discussions forum on Steam: https://steamcommunity.com/app/3448380/discussions/2/