Hot Lava News

We’re now over a month into our release; thank you so much for all the feedback and bug reports. Today in addition to optimizations and fixes we’re releasing a challenging new curated community map “Parkour Island” and our Language Mod Uploader.

[previewyoutube]Parkour Island[/previewyoutube]
Starting with Parkour Island, all curated community maps now contain challenges and accessories so you can increase your rank and collect some new items. Also in this update we have some optimizations to the network and some long-awaited fixes. We’re hard at work on some new original content that we hope to bring to you soon.


“Welcome Adventurer. This place is known as Parkour Island. Ancient warriors used to train here to hone their skills and compete against one another to see who could finish the obstacle course the fastest. Test your might!"



With the Hot Lava Language Mod Uploader you can upload your own language translation to the Steam Workshop. Read more on our forums.

Find it in your Steam Library:

1. Open the Steam Client
   
2. Under Library, search for Hot Lava.
   
3. Install "Hot Lava Language Mod Uploader"
   

Stay cool, stay safe, and stay off the floor.

• New Klei Curated Community map: Parkour Island
  
• Klei Curated Community maps now contain challenges and accessories which increases max player rank
  
• Art and lighting optimisations on all worlds
  
• Fixed multiple lobster traps in all worlds
  
• Fixed bug where head accessories would stay visible in first person
  
• Fixed bug causing players to be unable to complete a challenge in chase the buddy Playground
  
• Networked precision improvements
  
• All Course Marathons are now included in Trials tallies
  
• More fixes to black mat collision issues in Gym Class
  
• Fixed collision in bouncy land tunnel that was allowing player to get thru ceiling in Playground
  
• Fixed tiny gap in the wall of the furnace in Basement
  
• Fixed offset collision on asphalt chunks inside little kids' basketball court of Playground
  
• Fixed collision on plastic Playground floors to be straighter
  
• Smoothed out grass near start of Chase the Big Kid in Playground
  
• Adjusted collision on wooden stairs in Playground to prevent weird animations
  
• Fixed missing collision in the unfinished section of the house in Basement
  
• Fixed clipping through cliff wall in Basement cave section
  
• Fixed checkpoint 11 in Bouncy Castle of Playground that would spawn you into the lava if you died
  
• Fixed various visual holes through world in Basement
  
• Fixed multiple Occlusion Culling issues in Basement
  
• Fixed instant death trap near a minecart and piece of timber in Basement
  
• Fixed Shadow Bias in Basement to prevent shadow flickering
  
• Fixed one way only window collision in sister’s bedroom of evil house of Basement
  
• Adjusted lighting in gym of School to reduce hot spot in center
  
• Fixed lava in Playground that was raising along sidewalks so you could see under
  
• Raised retaining wall in Playground around field so you can no longer see gap in lava
  
• Fixed clipping issue when in Tiny Toy in School. You could clip into C-rock outside of the Social Studies class
  
• Fixed janitor crashing through the ground in School
  
• Fixed issues with venting inside cafe kitchen of Wholesale
  
• Fixed gap in along retaining wall of field in Playground
  
• Fixed out of world bug you could get if you ran along retaining wall at parking end of field in Playground
  
• Fixed exploit in Basement where you could walk through the furnace
  
• Fixed see-thru rocks in caves of Basement
  
• Fixed Occlusion Culling issues in Basement
  
• Fixed exclusion zones so there is no charring in non-lava areas in Wholesale
  
• Fixed wall without collision near beginning of lava area in Basement
  
• Updated Chase Through the Store gold challenge to 33 seconds
  
• Fixed challenge not being awarded for Chase the Buddy in Playground
  
• Fixed bug where secret challenges were appearing in tally of after course score screen
  
• Fixed weird lava death when you jump on tv armoire in family room with bottomless pit of Basement
  
• Fixed multiple walls without collision in Basement
  
• Fixed see thru rock at the top of the house exterior in Basement
  
• Fixed see-thru cliffs in Basement caves
  
• Fixed game box crashing thru shelf in sister's bedroom of Basement
  
• Fixed multiple crouch traps under waffle blocks in foyer of Basement
  
• Fixed weird animations when walking on foyer stairs Basement’s lava world by adding more waffle blocks
  
• Filled in gaps between walls and lava throughout the main house in Basement
  
• Tightened up Out of bounds kill volumes in Playground
  
• Fixed spot you can get stuck in laundry aisle of Wholesale
  
• Fixed spot you can get stuck in flour aisle of Wholesale
  
• Fixed pogo placement in courtyard of School. Was floating away from planter
  
• Add LavaFact tip to bind 'Restart'
  
• Minor fixes to Chinese (Simplified and Traditional) and German translations
  
• Localize headings on credits screen
  
• Add some missing credits
  
• Fixed exploit to get Buddy back into your hands at current location (run to FinishLine and enter/exit spectate)
  
• Fixed watching a replay during the intro animation puts you in a weird camera position and resetting makes you unable to move or press ESC
  
• Fixed mod maps and language screens failing to sort Klei content by name
  
• Fixed splash screen English text when playing in nonenglish
  
• Fixed English death reasons in The Blue Box
  
• Fixed some items not grabbable in The Blue Box
  
• Fixed sometime user can't walk over the threshold of course portals
  
• Fixed missing 'ß' character in Master Class in German
  
• Fixed name of Master Class to always be Master Class
  
• Fixed Basement comic appears in collections before unlocking Basement
  
• Fixed achievements jumps to middle of list on first view
  
• Fixed award screen shows start button but ignores start button (gamepad)
  
• Fixed mod maps using ShadowDrawDistanceOverride to retain quality-specific shadow distances for near shadow cascade and make ShadowDrawDistanceOverride only influence the far cascade
  
• Minor UI art refinements
  
• Fixed issue where multiple buddy challenges were appearing during Chase the Buddy courses
  
• Spectator mode now displays course intros correctly
  

• Fixed group member logic for player menu UI
  
• Fixed missing buddy ranks in player rank tally
  
• Fixed issue with pink players
  
• Fixed issue with buddy chase course not working properly in Playground
  
• Fixed all languages disappearing when you enter, exit, and re-enter language selection screen
  

Hot Lava SDK, our level creation Steam Workshop mod tool, is now available:

• Contains packages for the Unity game engine
  
• Import them to get our basic building blocks for course and art assets from the game to create your own maps and upload them to the Steam Workshop
  
• More details in our Modkit readme

Hot Lava SDK is currently available for Windows. You can find it in your Steam Library:

1. Open the Steam Client
   
2. Under Library, select Tools. (Or click Filtered List.)
   
3. Install "Hot Lava SDK"
   
4. Launch "Hot Lava SDK" to find a quickstart guide and the unity packages.
   

• Added Steam trading cards
  
• Added Unity map-making tools: Hot Lava SDK (requires Unity 2018.4.8f1)
  
• Players now preserve speed through portal checkpoints if they are boosting before entering them
  
• Fixed a bug causing velocity loss while performing consecutive surf flicks
  
• Reduced maximum angle of slope surf allows to fix some cases of wraparound when leaving an object
  
• Chase the buddy course should now work for all players in the Basement level
  
• Adjusted difficulty of grab the pin challenge in Chase the Meaning of Basement
  
• Fixed bug causing players to go out of bounds midway through Snowy Mountain in the Blue Box
  
• Fixed some audio issues with boost batteries in tiny toy trials
  
• Fixed achievement text to use "Gym Class" instead of "Tutorial"
  
• Added support for gamepad shoulder buttons to cycle spectate
  
• Fixed wrong dog in basement courses
  
• Fixed mod screen changes selection on refresh
  
• Fixed minor translation issues in Chinese, Arabic
  
• Fixed some cases of English when translation is applied
  
• Fixed gamepad Right Stick doesn't turn character in Toy Shelf when using a controller
  
• Fixed ugly mirroring of textures on skater helmet
  
• Fixed collision on black mats players were getting caught on in Gym Class
  
• Fixed lobster trap near Buddy on wrapped bottles in Wholesale
  
• Fixed lobster trap in dog food area, right after freezer section in Wholesale
  
• Fixed directions of conveyor belt animations in Wholesale
  
• Fixed lobster trap near TV in basement of Intro
  
• Fixed numerous issues around player and player accessory visibility
  
• Fixed issue with sticker sheet rewards not being available in the customize menu
  
• Fixed failure to get gamepad input if gamepad is connected via both wired and wireless
  
• Remove Decal from default gamepad binding to prevent accidental use from heavy stick hands
  

For previous users of modkit, here's what's new:

• Requires Unity 2018.4.8f1
  
• Add modkit_everything_explained.pdf with solutions to common problems and tips for using advanced features
  
• Update modkit_quickstart.pdf with workarounds for possible roadblocks
  
• Show error when lava is missing saved simulation and how to fix
  
• Add Volcano (see HotLavaPalette)
  
• Add TinyToy prefabs (see HotLavaPalette)
  
• Add more death reasons to let modkit have more flavour in all languages
  
• Fix AddPortalButton adding bad components to lobby game mode
  

• Fixed bug where secret challenges were showing in the level score screen
  
• Fixed ghost buddy checkpoints staying in other courses
  
• Nerfed "Chase through the store" challenge from 32 to 33 seconds
  
• Fixed fallback reflection support for Potato and low end graphics devices
  
• Fixed legacy mod maps with teleport volumes (e.g. Blossom)
  
• Various audio bugs fixed
  
• Fixed Sue players receiving the sister skin after long play sessions
  
• Fixed bug where Buddy the pug would explode into a fireball the first time you threw him
  
• Muting a player now mutes audio
  
• Fixed 'stuck after spawning' bug
  

Hot Lava is Now Available on Steam and is 20% off!*

The Floor is Hot Lava! Run, jump, climb, and surf across nostalgia-packed environments flooded with hot molten lava. Explore alone, or join your friends. And whatever you do, don’t touch the floor.

*Offer ends September 26 at 10AM Pacific Time

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

It’s happening!

We’re incredibly happy (and proud) to say after many long years of development that Hot Lava is being officially released today. It has been an incredible journey to get to this point, and it’s something we couldn’t have done without your support.

During the beta, the Hot Lava community helped us release 27 updates, and we are planning to continue to update and improve the game with everyone else who is joining us today. We saw an incredibly talented mapping community emerge, creating some awe-inspiring custom content. We also saw a speed running scene grow that is unlike anything we could have ever expected. The Hot Lava community has been so important to this game during development that we can’t help but thank you again.

It’s amazing to look back at how far we have come from the first version of Hot Lava. You are going to be playing a series of new worlds, Playground, Wholesale and Mastery that were added during the Beta, as well as a brand new world called “Basement” launching today. Our item system has moved away from randomized drops and towards a purely progression based unlock system. Mechanics have been refined over numerous iterations to create an incredibly deep player controller. We have also added full controller support, optimized performance and translated the game into 15 languages. But we still have so many exciting updates we can’t wait to share with you.

So with all that, we hope to see you all jumping on furniture very soon. And whatever you do… don’t touch the floor.

• Fixed slow motion dog after completing a buddy mode course
  
• Fixed soft lock when leaving a level after entering buddy mode course.
  
• Fixed issue with camera sometimes rotating freely from player when respawning
  
• Fixed issue with certain mod maps having pink skies
  
• Fixed issue with "All Course Marathon" not uploading scores to leaderboard or saving replays
  
• Fixed issue with "All Course Marathon" occasionally spawning the player in the ground when transitioning courses
  
• Fixed issue with "All Course Marathon" including pogo trials in some maps
  

• Fix can't pick up Golden Pins or G.A.T. Comics when playing in Arabic
  
• Fix achievement unlocked notification doesn't appear until you close the game
  
• Fix spawning inside the ground during All Course Marathon on Basement
  
• Fix unable to start All Course Marathon in Wholesale
  

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
Hello friends!

Next week, on September 19, Hot Lava will be officially launching on Steam! To celebrate the upcoming launch, we have released a new G.A.T. episode for your viewing pleasure. It is available here:
Many of you have been playing and helping us test the Beta build that we have quietly been updating for the past year, and for launch we have a whole bunch of new features for you to check out.

Here is a brief list of things we’ve added or changed for launch:

• A new World to explore: Basement!
  
• Achievements are now added, enjoy 41 new achievements
  
• Randomized drops have been replaced with unlocks, making it much easier to unlock all the items in the game.
  
• Tons of work on polishing the controls, framerate, onboarding, bugs, etc.
  
• With the launch version, the main features of the game are complete and we’re ready for the general public to enjoy the game.
  

The beta may be over, but we aren’t quite ready to call it quits yet. We will continue updating the game post-launch with new content, bug fixes, optimizations, and more.

Thank you to everyone who has been following us all these years, and especially a huge shoutout to everyone who played and gave us feedback on the Beta, we couldn’t have done it without you!

See you on the playground!