Hot Lava News

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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!

• Add partial translations for العَرَبِيَّة , Deutsch, Español, Français, Italiano, 日本語, 한국어, Nederlands, Português Brasileiro, Türkçe, 繁體中文.
  
• Update Simplified Chinese and Russian (Русский) translations.
  
• Buddy mode added to Gym Class courses
  
• Renamed Catch the Grade challenges to Catch Your Sister in appropriate courses
  
• Fixed bug causing Catch Your Sister challenges to not complete
  
• Fixed issue where buddy would be deflected randomly when being thrown
  
• Fixed presentation issues with checkpoints in all course trials and when continuing
  
• Fixed asphalt clipping into fence in Playground
  
• Fixed hole in world along the retaining wall near field in Playground
  
• Varied the heights of the asphalt chunks at the start of Big Kids course in Playground
  
• Tuned surf flick to bias more towards vertical velocity over look direction
  
• New School and Wholesale’s Overworld / Lobby songs
  
• New SFX when getting heat damaged
  
• New SFX when dying in Bottomless Pit
  
• Reworked Damage Feedback Indicator SFX
  
• Cleanup appearance of community map and languages screens
  
• Make community map, languages, and settings screens adjust to different aspect ratios
  
• Fix hand popping out when pogoing near a vending machine.
  
• Fix comic text reading background not filling the screen on non 16:9 aspect ratios
  
• Support navigating menus with the gamepad’s dpad
  
• Prevent broken keyboard/gamepad navigation on main menu
  

• Update most translations (except Japanese) to be complete
  
• Add episode titles to GAT cartoon subtitles
  
• Fix name of "Simplified Chinese" in Simplified Chinese
  
• Minor Simplified & Traditional Chinese main menu fixes
  
• Fix display of العَرَبِيَّة in non-Arabic languages
  
• Fix cutoff text in skip prompts and overlapping buttons in some languages (German, French, etc)
  
• Fix SetAnimatorParameter was totally broken
  
• Fix scrollwheel sometimes doesn't work on community maps or languages screen
  
• Fix broken screenshot on first use of bugreporter
  
• Fix accessing bugreporter with gamepad submits bugs while you're typing
  

• Fix appearance of title banner on low poly portals so black edges go inside side rocks
  
• Draw portal spawn offset in editor (where you appear when you exit a course)
  
• Allow multiple animators for SetAnimatorParameter
  
• Fix can’t edit FlashColorSound on GrabbableModifier
  
• Add messages for collecting GameModeCollectibles in GameModeCollectibleTracker (“Found Secret 2 of 5”) and add example to modkit_demo (these are not yet visible in Steam builds)
  
• Volume fixer re-added to modkit
  
• Add basic in-world on-prefab Preview Animation tool
  

Today’s patch will be the last (major) one we do before the game launches into release.

This has been an incredibly long road to releasing the game, but it was worth it. With the community's help I believe we have made something really special. Today I’m pleased to say this will be our last content patch before we release later this fall.

At launch we will be adding the long awaited “Basement” world for the game. We plan to continue to release content, features, and service the game post launch. We will also be adding Steam Achievements and Trading Cards with launch.

The Hot Lava mapping community has been creating amazing worlds for our game, and we have been actively awarding bounties for these maps to ensure we can include them in all versions of the game.

We will be removing the “gift box” and “ticket” systems. We will be replacing this with a system where you earn cosmetics at a rate of one randomized item per challenge. This will provide a better feedback loop for challenges, while maintaining the randomization that our game needs to make each players loadout feel unique. We will also be making major changes to the items available, and will be adding and removing many different items.

When we launch into release many aspects of the game will have a fresh start. Our levels and player mechanics have been growing and changing over this beta so much that we will reset all leaderboards. Inventories and progress will be incompatible with our new systems.

Those who have helped us test during this beta phase will be rewarded with a very special unique item to say “thank you”.

On that note, THANK YOU! The feedback, bug reports, and custom levels we have received from this community has been insanely influential to the development of this game. We could not have gotten here without you, and I can’t wait to show you what we have been working on for launch.

• Added Buddy mode courses in Playground
  
• All Course Trial added to Gym Class
  
• All Course Trial added to Playground
  
• New course Chase your Sister added to Gym Class
  
• New course Chase the Big Kids added to Playground
  
• New preview art for The Blue Box
  
• Added official Russian translation
  
• Course portals re-arranged in Gym Class
  
• Sue added to introduction animations in Playground and School
  
• Level Intro animations can now be skipped
  
• Added Sue dialogue subtitles in Intro
  
• Fixed all blue box portals always using xray
  
• Fixed wrong impact sound for Detergent Jug
  
• Fixed gap in plastic tunnels of School
  
• Fixed z-fighting walls in Wholesale
  
• Fixed lobster trap near tire stack in Wholesale
  
• Expanded kill volume of grinder in Wholesale
  
• Blocked off vent and door way near freezer in the Wholesale course Meat Grinder
  
• Add subtitles to Sue’s intro dialogue
  
• Improve main menu, language, community maps, and options screen layouts on non 16:9 displays
  
• Intro Level rework for better player onboarding
  
• Made new items on level select more obvious
  
• Made selected item in character customize more obvious
  
• Add gamepad button icons to remaining screens
  
• Rename PlayerMenu binding to ShowPlayers
  
• Audio Mix improvements to Intro level
  
• New Coil Pot and Cafe Awning objects SFX
  

• Add /flycamtype console command to toggle to a “pretty” DebugFreeCamera for capturing footage
  
• Add FOV, timescale, movement speed, and look sensitivity controls for DebugFreeCamera -- only on gamepad and only in Editor
  
• Add PrefabPlacer component for randomly placing prefabs in a volume at edit-time
  
• Make ActivateTrigger’s DropItem to apply to the local player instead of trigger target
  
• Fix errors when remote players throw their ghost buddy
  
• Support applying SetAnimatorParameter on restore
  
• Make applying SetAnimatorParameter parameters in OnEnable optional and add Help to make it clearer how you can use it
  
• Add console command to tweak modmap ambient occlusion in Steam builds (it isn't previewed in Modkit, but it's visible in release build): /ambientocclusion radius 1 intensity 0.1
  
• Add console command to tweak modmap depth of field in Steam builds (it isn't previewed in Modkit, but it's visible in release build): /dof start 0.1 range 0.3 power 1
  
• Fix "Add Key Items" GameModeContainer button not adding items
  
• Fix creation of non-HL_ components by grab editor and volume fixer -- now creates HL_ components that work in published maps
  
• Add Portals button now tries to find World Texture Override (LavaPortalVisualization) by the name of the course
  
• Add lowpoly prefabs for use in HotLavaGameContainer: CheckPointVisualization_lowpoly, SubModeFinishVisualization_lowpoly, FinishLineVisualization_lowpoly
  
• Add Portals button will place lowpoly portal prefabs if you're using lowpoly checkpoints
  
• Holding Ctrl will make Add Portals to replace existing portals in addition to adding new ones (good for converting to low poly or updating WorldTextureOverride)
  
• Readme file is now broken up into two documents: modkit_readme.pdf is now the Quick Start Guide; modkit_everything_explained.pdf is a more detailed document
  

• Added Plague cosmetic item set
  
• UI Readability pass for low resolution and high DPI displays
  
• New course in Playground called “Sports Day”
  
• Changed the GAT episode watched during Intro to Hazard Haze
  
• Add subtitle system
  
• Relayout main menu to make it easier to change language when using the wrong language
  
• Redesign level select in main menu to show both times and challenges
  
• Playground now has all 60 collectable cards in both overworld and lava world
  
• Players can now move on ledges and poles by looking the direction they want to go and pressing forward -- strafing is also still supported
  
• Updated wind tunnel behavior: instead of an increasing strength closer to the fan there is now a linear force of air pushing against the player.
  
• Updates to Pole Vault course in Gym Class to fix some jumps and skips
  
• Leaderboards have been reset for Pole Vault course due to updates
  
• Fix for not being able to move as lex in tiny toy
  
• Fix swing challenge not completing for some players in trampoline trouble
  
• Fix non-ascii chat messages showing as "????"
  
• Fix other players appearing in Intro and breaking progression
  
• Fix camera zoom when scrolling options menu while AFK
  
• Fix errors when dying from fall damage
  
• Fixed flame in Intro’s fireplace disappearing
  
• Reduced SSAO artifacting
  
• Revised highlighting of interactable objects
  
• Made surf objects highlight when near
  
• Fix broken water fountain in School near surf hallway
  
• Fix lobster trap in School kitchen risers
  
• Lava fog shader optimizations
  
• Front End (Menus) Sounds reworked from the ground up
  
• Make DebugFreeCamera movement and rotation smoother
  
• Move DebugFreeCamera’s altitude gamepad controls to RT/LT
  
• Add DebugFreeCamera_Roll to roll the DebugFreeCamera (R/T on keyboard or RB/LB on gamepad)
  
• Fix multiple issues with players being kicked from spectate mode
  
• Fix multiple issues with camera detaching from player related to spectate
  
• Improved online focused player detection
  
• Replays now continue from the correct spot when continuing a course
  
• Fix various actions causing idle to not exit properly
  
• Fix New Action City card particle effect attached to the wrong bone
  

• Fix online groups failing to work
  
• Fix failure to spawn player when playing offline
  
• Fix incorrect player rank when playing offline
  
• Fix buttons disappearing or otherwise unclickable in Main Menu
  
• Change continue button to disabled instead of hiding when it’s unavailable
  
• Fix spelling mistake in comic
  
• Fix failing to turn on subtitles when switching away from English
  
• Fix hazard vertex explosion on some landings
  
• Fix Hazard toy looking like broken Jen toy
  
• Fix hole in playground lava
  
• Fix new sports day comic page not showing in comic reading menu