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Hotfix 2.0.6

[h2]Hotfix 2.0.6[/h2]
  • [p]Added support for rebinding the Difficulty Selector across all screens[/p]
  • [p]Keybinds available for both both keyboard and controller[/p]

Patch 2.0.5: Goodbye Quick Play, Hello Squad Finder!

Patch 2.0.5: Saying Goodbye to Quick Play, Hello to Squad Finder
[p][/p][p]Hey everyone![/p][p]We’re back with Patch 2.0.5, and this one is focused heavily on improving how you find people to play with.[/p][p]Let’s be real for a second: Quick Play wasn't working the way we wanted it to. We’ve read your feedback, and we know that matching was often frustrating, inconsistent, or just took too long to find a quality group. [/p][p]
So, we tore it down and built something better.[/p][h2]
Introducing: Squad Finder[/h2][p][/p][p]Squad Finder replaces Quick Play entirely. The goal here is "intentionality." Instead of just hitting a button and hoping for the best, you now queue by difficulty.
[/p][p]How it works:[/p]
  • [p]Quick Play and Public Queue have been fully removed and replaced by Squad Finder[/p]
  • [p]Squad Finder:[/p]
    • [p]Players now queue by difficulty instead of location[/p]
    • [p]Squads now form in Town before a run starts[/p]
    • [p]Once formed, squads can choose when and where to deploy together[/p]
  • [p]Added a difficulty selector to the top of the World Map[/p]
  • [p]You can now see which zones and difficulties your squad mates have unlocked
    [/p]
[h3]A Note on Wait Times & Group Sizes[/h3][p]We want to get you into the game as fast as possible, but we also don't want you sitting in a queue forever. Here is how the new logic handles wait times:[/p]
[p]GROUP SIZE WAIT TIMES[/p]
  • [p]4-Player Squad: As soon as 4 players are found, the squad forms instantly.[/p]
  • [p]3-Player Squad: If at least 1 new member joins, the squad forms after 3 minutes.[/p]
  • [p]2-Player Squad: If at least 1 new member joins, the squad forms after 5 minutes.[/p]
  • [p]Fallback: If absolutely no new members match your queue after 15 minutes, you’ll be removed from the queue to try again or adjust your settings.[/p]
[p]
[c]We'll be monitoring the queue and wait times closely, and will make adjustments as needed. In a future update, we'll also provide better visibility on the status of matchmaking.
[/c]
Don't forget:
In our last update, we equalized loot options. Whether you are solo, duo, trio, or a full squad of four, everyone gets access to 4 loot choices. So, if Squad Finder matches you as a trio, you aren't missing out on rewards![/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][p][/p][h2]Steam Deck Improvements[/h2][p][/p][p]We know a lot of you enjoy playing on the go, so the Steam Deck has received some improvements. [/p]
  • [p]Virtual Keyboard: The keyboard will now properly pop up when text fields are focused.[/p]
  • [p]Bluetooth Controllers: You can now properly swap between using the Steam Deck controls and a Bluetooth controller.[/p]
  • [p]Readability: We’ve bumped up the text size to make things much more legible on the smaller screen.[/p]
[hr][/hr][p][/p][h2]Quality of Life & HUD Updates[/h2][p][/p][p]Finally, we added a few highly requested features to make the gameplay experience smoother:[/p]
  • [p]FOV Slider: It’s finally here! You can now adjust your Field of View in the Video Settings menu.[/p]
  • [p]Gold Coin Counter: We added a counter to the HUD during runs. This tracks exactly how many coins you’ve picked up in the current run (separate from your total wallet).[/p]
  • [p]Chat: Player names are now highlighted in chat to clearly indicate they’re interactable.[/p]
  • [p]Chat Fixes: Fixed that annoying bug where chat became unusable after closing full-screen UIs.[/p]
  • [p]Squad Invites: Button placement for Accepting/Rejecting invites has been moved to feel more intuitive.[/p]
[p]If you need a refresher on the new matchmaking system, go talk to Jeanne in town. She has a new tutorial ready for you.[/p][p]As always, thank you for the honest feedback regarding Quick Play. We hope Squad Finder makes grouping up much smoother. Let us know how it feels![/p][p][/p][p]See you in the run.[/p]

🎲 WEEKLY STAT DEEP DIVE: ARMOR, DIMINISHING RETURNS, AND SQUAD MATH

[p]Hey Time Travelers![/p][p]Welcome back to our weekly stat series! Last week we crunched the numbers on Crits, and this week we are looking at the other side of the coin: Armor.[/p][p]Armor works a bit differently than other stats because it follows a very specific Diminishing Return curve and uses a unique rule for multiplayer sharing. We wanted to clarify exactly how the formula works so you know when to stack more metal and when to rely on other forms of mitigation.[/p][p]Here is the official breakdown. [/p][h3]🛡️ THE ARMOR CURVE (THE MATH) 🛡️[/h3][p]First, let's look at the raw numbers. Armor is one of the main attributes which reduces incoming damage from basic attacks.[/p][p]You can check your exact reduction by hovering over the Armor stat in your panel. The rating translates directly into a percentage reduction.[/p][p]
[/p][p]The Formula The game calculates your damage reduction percentage using this specific formula:[/p]
  • [p]{Reduction Value} = 1 - (4000 / (Armor
  • 6 + 4000))[/p]
[p]What this means for you Armor has Diminishing Returns. As you can see in the chart below, the first 1,000 Armor gives you a massive jump (60%), but it takes significantly more Armor to squeeze out the next few percent.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]🤝 SQUAD GOALS: SCALING VS. SURVIVAL 🤝[/h3][p]In a multiplayer context, your Armor value is shared with other players at 100% of the value. This is massive for your teammates, but the math changes depending on whether you are dealing damage or taking it.[/p][p]For Defense (Taking a Hit) At the moment of damage calculation, the total Armor value is divided by the number of players in the squad before running through the reduction formula above. This means the damage reduction gets normalized across the squad.[/p][p]For Offense (Scaling Abilities) This is where the 100% sharing shines. You get the full benefit of the shared Armor value for ability scaling! [/p][h3]⚔️ OFFENSE IS THE BEST DEFENSE ⚔️[/h3][p]Speaking of scaling, some abilities like the Draconess' Fang or Piercing Thrust have effects that scale directly based on your Armor rating.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Abilities like this pair extremely well with high Armor builds (including rings and trinkets), and the damage scaling increases even further as you evolve the ability.[/p][p][/p][h3]📉 DIMINISHING RETURNS VS. GLOBAL REDUCTION 📉[/h3][p]It is important to distinguish between Armor and Global Damage Reduction. They are separate attributes that work synergistically.[/p][p]If you already have high Armor (hitting those diminishing returns), Global Damage Reduction becomes very valuable because it is applied after Armor.[/p][p]Example Calculation: Imagine an incoming attack dealing 10,000 Base Damage. You have 2,000 Armor (75% Reduction) and 10% Global Damage Reduction.[/p]
  1. [p]Armor Step: 10,000 is reduced by 75% →2,500 damage remains.[/p]
  2. [p]Global Step: 2,500 is reduced by 10% → 2,250 Damage Taken.[/p]
[p]Note: Shield effects take both Armor and Global Damage Reduction into account, making them very powerful if your stats are high![/p][p][/p][h3]⚠️ EXCEPTIONS & NEGATIVE VALUES ⚠️[/h3][p]Here are a few final rules to keep you alive:[/p]
  • [p]Negative Armor: Armor can be negative (usually on enemies). It clamps at -500 Armor, which corresponds to a 3x increase in damage taken.[/p]
  • [p]True Damage: Some final boss attacks deal Max HP% based damage. These specific attacks do not get reduced by Armor.[/p]
  • [p]Stay Close: If you step out of a teammate's Aura, you instantly lose the Armor stats they were granting you. So watch your positioning![/p]
[p]That's it for this week's deep dive! Stay tuned for next week's attribute breakdown.[/p]

Feature Highlight: Introducing Squad Finder

[p]Hey Time Travelers,
[/p][p]As we keep acting on your feedback and rolling out new improvements, we want to give you a heads up on a meaningful change to matchmaking in Out of Time.
[/p][p]Quick Play (and location/difficulty specific queues) are being replaced by a new system called Squad Finder.[/p][p][/p][p]Its goal is simple: help you find the right squad at the right difficulty.
[/p][h2]Why the Change?[/h2][p]Quick Play is very good at one thing: getting players into runs fast. But that speed came with some tradeoffs:[/p]
  • [p]Squads with… let’s call them “creative” power level gaps[/p]
  • [p]Difficulty preferences aren’t respected strongly enough - we didn’t even ask![/p]
  • [p]With individual location/difficulty queues, we spread players out too much, which made it harder to consistently match players together so players would frequently end up in runs solo[/p]
[p][/p][p]What we’ve heard is pretty clear.[/p][p]Players are fine with randomness in location. They’re not fine with randomness in difficulty. We missed the mark on matchmaking, and Squad Finder is built to fix that.
[/p][h2]What’s Different?[/h2][p][/p][h3][/h3][p]You now queue by difficulty, not by zone. You’ll choose one of the following:[/p]
  • [p]All Available (allows players to match in any difficulty they’ve unlocked)[/p]
  • [p]Normal[/p]
  • [p]Hard[/p]
  • [p]Shattered 1 - 5[/p]
  • [p]Shattered 6 - 10[/p]
  • [p]Shattered 11 - 20[/p]
[p]You can select one option at a time, and matchmaking will only pair you with players looking for the same difficulty.
[/p][h3]No More Auto-Launching[/h3][p]Once matchmaking finds players:[/p]
  • [p]Everyone stays in town[/p]
  • [p]You get a notification when the squad is formed[/p]
  • [p]One player becomes the Squad Leader[/p]
  • [p]The Squad Leader chooses where the squad goes next[/p]
[p]No surprise launches. No accidental runs.[/p][p]You decide when and where to jump.
[/p][h3][/h3][p]The World Map will now make it clearer for your whole group:[/p]
  • [p]Which zones are unlocked[/p]
  • [p]Whether everyone can enter at the selected difficulty[/p]
[p]No more guessing before you select a location or difficulty.[/p][p][/p][h2]What About New Players?[/h2][p][/p][p]New players won’t see Squad Finder right away.[/p]
  • [p]First runs are directed into Private Games to acclimate new players to a full run. [/p]
  • [p]After completing their first run, Squad Finder is introduced through the tutorial[/p]
[p]This gives new Time Travelers a chance to learn the basics before jumping into matchmaking.
[/p][h2]What’s Next?[/h2][p]
This is phase one.[/p][p]This is a foundational change aimed at improving match quality based directly on your feedback. As always, we’ll be watching how it performs in the wild and adjusting as needed.[/p][p][/p][p]Let us know how Squad Finder feels once it’s live.[/p][p]We’ll see you out there![/p][p]– The Out of Time Team[/p][p]
[/p]

We've Reworked Loot Based On Your Feedback

[p]Hey Timetravelers,[/p][p][/p][p]We've been diving deep into your feedback since launch, and one message came through loud and clear: the solo loot experience just wasn't cutting it.[/p][p]Our goal is to make co-op a blast, but we saw that the reward system was actively discouraging solo players. Reading your comments made it obvious we had to make a change.[/p][p][/p]
[p]"Running alone takes twice as long for half the reward... it doesn't seem logical at all to make solo players have to grind missions 4x as much."[/p][p]"If I can't get a group I just log off. Game isn't worth playing solo."[/p]
[p][/p][p]You're right. Your time should be respected, no matter your group size. So, we're changing things.[/p][p][/p][h3]The Big Change: Four Loot Choices for Everyone[/h3][p]Starting today, the number of loot choices you get is no longer tied to your squad size.[/p][p][/p][p]All players will now receive four reward cards to choose from.[/p][p]This applies to rewards from:[/p]
  • [p]Mini bosses[/p]
  • [p]Gear Slimes[/p]
  • [p]The end of every run[/p]
[p][/p][p]Whether you're jamming solo or with a full team, you'll have the same number of options to hunt for that perfect piece of gear.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]One More Thing...[/h3][p]We also squeezed in a quality-of-life fix:[/p]
  • [p]Ring & Trinket Stat Display: When a ring or trinket drops, its stats are now shown directly on the item card. Make better decisions, faster.[/p]
[p]We believe playing in a group should be an exciting choice, not a requirement to feel rewarded. This patch is the first big step in making that a reality.[/p][p]Thanks for being an awesome community and for all the constructive feedback. It truly helps us make the game better.[/p][p]Jump in, check it out, and let us know what you think![/p][p]Cheers,
The Out of Time Team[/p]