We have three announcements today! 1. Super Marxist Twins will be on sale today as part of the Steam Autumn Sale! If you've been waiting to pick it up, well then wait a couple more hours and grab it today! 2. We've updated the game with some quality of life (or should I say quality of death?) improvements! In single-player when one twin dies in a pit and you have the other twin to swap to, you'll be moved to a safe position before swapping. In co-op when a twin is re-spawned you will appear on a safety platform and will be impervious to damage until you move or do any other action. We've always wanted SMT to be a challenging game, but we also wanted it to be fair, and we're hoping these changes will help it feel a little better in that regard. 3. The free demo for SMT has also been updated with the above features! It had been lagging behind for a while so we thought it was time to polish it up again. Changelog:

GAMEPLAY

• Improvements to death and respawn for both sp and co-op
• Added 240fps cap option
• Updated instruction booklet to add missing info for enemies, bosses, and more advanced moves

ART

• Added approval stamp to main menu

LEVELS

• 2-1: fixed errant world tile

EDITOR

• Improved player handling in editor and re-implemented virtual cursor

AUDIO

• Added ducking to effects audio channel

FIXES

• Fixed multiple bugs around victory tonic
• Fixed Signs (and Manifesto & ActivationSwitch) working when they shouldn't
• Fixed player 2 controls panel navigation
• Removed EventSystem from scenes and updated d-pad menu navigation (fixes d-pad inconsistency on Steam Deck in UI)
• Fixed honked up prefab overrides
• Solved preference initialization error

Hi, Firstly, HUGE THANKS to everyone who supported Super Marxist Twins in Early Access! Your support meant the world to us and helped us get this game into the best shape it could be in leading up to this moment! SUPER MARXIST TWINS is now available on Steam! PS5 and XBox versions are coming soon! If you purchased the game previously during Early Access, there's no need buy it again, you'll already have the full game in your Steam library. If you enjoy the game, consider telling a friend about it! Word-of-mouth is the best way for a game like this one to catch on. If you haven't already, consider joining our mailing list to keep up with our development efforts on SMT and future Type 3 Studios projects! You'll also get access to a high-resolution PDF Concept Art Book, showing some of the SMT art as it looked throughout development. We promise not to spam - we don't send messages all that often. Eric Kesterson Type 3 Studios

Tsar Boarav has been pillaging The Nation for far too long. His tyrannical rule must be brought to an end. The Super Marxist Twins are the only hope The Nation has to recover the resources the Tsar has stolen, and free The People from his reign once and for all!

SPREAD THE WORD - THE PEOPLE HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW! DOWN WITH BOSSES!

Changelog:

GAMEPLAY

• Added Tsar Boarav to the game

UI

• Made character swap indicator flash when swapping

AUDIO

• Added sound effects to Ratsputin
• Updated wind to support looping & non-looping sounds

FIXES

• Fixed problem where preferences were being reset - again

Blowhard is a blue blooded blowfish who bows only to Boarav. Bitter biting blatherings are his bread and butter. Bloviatiors are best left buried.

SPREAD THE WORD - THE PEOPLE HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW! DOWN WITH BOSSES!

Changelog:

GAMEPLAY

• Added BLOWHARD (Boss of Harbor Province)
• Sickles and hammers no longer de-spawn immediately off-screen

UI

• Added P1, P2, and character swap indicators to HUD
• Updated spinning star on buttons to not be blurry

FIXES

• Fixed first time panel problem due to async pref loading

Little is known of Ratsputin's origins, other than being a monk from a backwater somewhere in The Nation. Through some guise, spell, or hypnosis he came into favor with the royalist regime. Magic and superstition have no place being held over the heads of The People.

SPREAD THE WORD - THE PEOPLE HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW! DOWN WITH BOSSES!

Changelog:

GAMEPLAY

• Added RATSPUTIN (Boss of Mountains Province)

Capital, like so many swine before him, rose through the ranks of management. Each rung on the corporate ladder saw him contributing less and weilding more power. He's not the highest power in the land, but he's adept at turning the economic screws in his own favor, while those that work for him barely make a living wage.

SPREAD THE WORD - THE PEOPLE HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW! DOWN WITH BOSSES!

Changelog:

GAMEPLAY

• Added CAPITAL SWINE (Boss of Countryside Province)

UI

• Updated Sound panel to use % instead of db on sliders

LEVELS

• Fixed missing collision on tile in level 1-8

FIXES

• Fixed emblem not fully powering up both characters
• Implemented session event patching (finally)
• Fixed async file operation bug when trying to play community levels.
• Fixed menu UIs sometimes becoming unresponsive
• Fixed first time panel not correctly labelling Steam account option

Attention Countrymen! We have three important announcements to bring you today!

1. Smash Boss September is upon us!

2. Our Kickstarter is live!

3. We have a release date!

This time around there are a multitude of gameplay tweaks and bug fixes. There is also a LOT MORE work behind the scenes on platform ports as well as a bunch of work on the as-yet un-announced bosses. Stay tuned for info about those fellers soon!

GAMEPLAY

• Removed province reset penalty from hard difficulty
• Updated V-Tonic to apply to both characters if both are alive when it's collected
• Adjusted pillbox pig bullet fire position
• Made boss pillars react better
• Added brief pause when hit on easy mode and removed pitch-shifting the music because it keeps messing up
• Improved conveyor belts
• Improved baton pass prompt by bumping next character if they're too low
• Improvement to camera clamping & lerping
• Fixed slow camera lerps
• Slightly slowed swim speed so that currents can't be swam through
• Sliding horizontal velocity improvement
• Made doors bring both players to exit point
• Increased vulnerability volume for pillbox pigs
• Added off-screen indicator to bomber pig

ART

• Added more skins for platforms
• Added skins to crumbling block hazards
• Added skins to moving platforms
• Updated some unfinished tile sprites
• Reduced saturation on town background
• Raised town background
• Improved harbor background (still WIP)
• Updated no-fall platforms to have a visually distinct top

UI

• Updated tutorial sign sickle & hammer images
• Improved run and jump tutorial signs
• Improved manifesto scaling and render order
• Updated to show "BONUS" instead of "BATTLEFIELD" for last province

LEVELS

• Updated boneyard and bog of eternal stench slightly
• Lots of level tweaks and improvements
• Fixed ending assembly tiles in world 4

EDITOR

• Improved selecting skins in editor
• Improved level editor zooming to factor in cursor position
• Removed unused Cave background
• Removed ability to change speed on Wind and Conveyor Belt
• Fixed editor handles left on when rats or smart bombs are used as projectiles while playing in editor

FIXES

• Fixed emblem not fully powering up both characters
• Fixed bug Saws and Moving Platforms would not reset their paths
• Fixed Skins
• Fixed wind bug
• Fixed bug where launch hits would pause the game like damage hits
• Fixed boss column damage bug
• Fixed scaling for some prompt objects and editor cursor
• Fixed off-screen indicator
• Fixed character select inactive bug during game over
• Fixed navigation on thanks for playing panel
• Fixed run particle stopping when attacking
• Fixed map path problem near future machine level
• Fixed getting stuck in jump animation
• Fixed soldier pigs not turning off parachute when they die
• Fixed world map bug where player characters would not start on last played level
• Fixed bug where game select became non-interactive after deleting a save game
• Fixed quitting from in-level
• Fixed file deletion bug
• Fixed bug where player could break weapon HUD
• Fixed bug where camera would jerk after mansion siege scene

OTHER

• Better text processing from language files
• There are probably other changes that we missed calling out here!

Various fixes as well as some gameplay tweaks this time.

GAMEPLAY

• Added bonus province with 4 all-new bonus levels
• Added Double-Tap Move to Run mode (available in Options -> Controls)
• Toned down pig enemy bounce force by 25%
• Updated Bomber Pig to have a 10 second respawn timer
• Added achievements (though not yet wired into Steam achievements)
• Updated wind to use bubbles in water levels
• Improved end panel retry binding

ART

• Improved harbor background
• Improved game select background images
• Fixed rendering order on some backgrounds

AUIDIO

• Reduced the volume of some loud sounds

UI

• Updated Level End panel to say "Return to Map", "Return to Editor", or "Return to Community" instead of "Continue" when appropriate

EDITOR

• Improved editor theme select images
• Fixed bugs related to testing & publishing levels from the editor

FIXES

• Fixed bug where game over and thanks for playing screens could get stuck open
• Fixed bug where options menu could get stuck open
• Fixed Alert Panel not closing

OTHER

• Added the Manifesto of the Communist Party to the bookshelf at Home
• Added text to tutorial signs images
• There are probably other changes that we missed calling out here!

This release is primarily a hotfix, but we also took this opportunity to update the public demo to coincide with recent improvements to the game, since it had not been updated in over a year.

FIXES

• Fixed UI Bugs that prevented playing community levels and required closing the game.
• Fixed swimming physics at the surface of the water being dependent on framerate.
• Fixed some incorrect UI prompts.

OTHER

• Added version string to reported game feedback.
• Public demo updated to reflect updates to base game.

We're going to be trying to update more frequently as we get closer to release, so the change logs may not be huge from now on. That said, there are some good updates to the swimming mechanics this time, so we'll be interested to hear how folks are enjoying it.

GAMEPLAY

• Tweaked physics around falling into water
• Tweaked physics around swimming to surface of water to hopefully make it easier to jump out of water
• Increased gold coin bounce height to what it used to be

AUDIO

• Reduced the volume of a particular hit sound to be more in-line with the rest of the game

UI

• Updated Level End panel to say "Return to Map" instead of "Continue" when appropriate
• Removed a couple of UI re-bind options that didn't really add value

FIXES

• Fixed problem where re-bind overlay wouldn't appear when re-binding some controls in some situations
• Fixed community level tagging UI not working on controller
• Fixed messed up difficulty selection panel in some situations
• Fixed updated control bindings not being respected for some UIs

OTHER

• Worked on bosses, to be announced soon!
• There are probably other changes that we missed calling out here!

This time around there's not a ton of new content, but we've been hard at work on bug fixes & polish, especially in the UI and Editor, and we've also been working behind the scenes on new bosses that will be introduced soon, and achievements which will go live with our full release! The game has also been re-submitted for review on Steam Deck Compatibility. This will hopefully give us that sweet sweet "Verified" green checkmark, but at the very least we think we'll get "Playable" with this update.

GENERAL

TECHNICAL

• Added 'Run in Background' option to Options -> Gameplay
• Removed 'vecima' as default text for sign-in

GAMEPLAY

• Reduced gold coin bounces to 2

LEVELS

• Fixed camera bias in 4-6

ART

• Fixed lighting on Player characters' raised arms

LEVEL EDITOR

• Updated select tile tool to pull from other layers based on visibility
• Added 'Move To Layer' tool
• Added play & stop buttons for music dropdown
• Fixed level validation bug
• Fixed level timer stuck displaying in editor
• Various small UI bug fixes and improvements

UI

• Overhauled the look of the UI, especially buttons
• Added the ability to rebind UI controls

FIXES

• Fixed bug that would sometimes drop the player through platforms when landing on them
• Fixed bug where player is not in control of character on level start
• Fixed Steam's floating keyboard not working on Steam Deck
• Fixed problem where single resource pickup could spawn charact AND count towards powering up
• Fixed backtracking from 4-8 not working properly
• Fixed bug when reading signs
• Fixed audio intialization bug on items spawned when something dies
• Fixed bullet tumble reset (so newly fired bullets don't tumble)

OTHER

• Updated Credits
• Worked on bosses, to be announced soon!
• Laid the groundwork for Achievements, which will be activated upon release!
• There are probably other changes that we missed calling out here!

It's been slow going, but we're excited to bring everyone a new update that completely overhauls the sound effects and includes all campaign levels! We've also made a bunch of gameplay tweaks and fixed numerous bugs (most listed below).

GENERAL

• Finished the world map
• Updated UI that asks questions the first time the game is launched
• Made many small tweaks to levels
• Improved text entry with gamepad
• Updated credits
• Updated world map so button mashing goes to next level correctly
• Updated home level to add some resources
• Re-implemented wind

TECHNICAL

• Made changes related to playing on Steam Deck

GAMEPLAY

• Tweaked swimming mechanics a bit more
• Removed explosive vulnerability from pig enemies
• Removed falling rock vulnerability from enemies

AUDIO

• Most of the sound effects in the game have been replaced with new ones by Jordan Hartsfield

LEVELS

• All campaign levels are now in the game!
• Added Level 4-6
• Added Level 4-7
• Added Level 4-8
• Made many small tweaks to levels

ART

• Added final art for Blowfish enemy
• Added final art for Countryside backgrounds
• Added final art for Sea backgrounds
• Added final art for first boss platform
• Added final art for Saw
• Added final art for Propeller
• Updated signs to stand out more
• Made ricocheted bullets tumble

LEVEL EDITOR

• Improved Smart Tile behavior in Industrial Forge
• Improved auto-collision in Industrial Forge
• Improved documentation in Industrial Forge
• Updated empty spaces in templates to erase tiles when template is pasted
• Fixed zoom issue in editor at some non-game-native resolutions

UI

• Added an optional game timer - this doesn't limit time, it just counts up in case that is helpful for speed run purposes
• Improved language in editor documentation
• Improved concept art panel
• Added buttons for discord and mailing list
• Improved UX when leaving game to play community levels

FIXES

• Fixed bug where platform descend wouldn't work while moving
• Fixed baton-pass prompt
• Fixed scuba pig disappearing when stomped
• Fixed a problem with scrolling backgrounds
• Fixed bullets interacting with spikes
• Fixed fade music during pause bug
• Fixed vtonic music bug
• Fixed main menu camera problem

OTHER

• Updated Credits
• There are probably other changes that we missed calling out here!

This update has been a long time coming, but it brings a lot of changes that we're excited for everyone to see. We've worked with the super-talented Nicole Marie T to completely overhaul the game music. This includes new takes on the tracks that were already in the game as well as several all-new tracks! We've added the first 5 levels to World 4! We've also made a bunch of gameplay tweaks and fixed numerous bugs (most listed below). TECHNICAL

• Added native support for Linux, Max, and 32 bit Windows

• Updated most hazards to now also hurt enemies (Anchor, Flame Pillar, Falling Rocks, Saws, Spikes)
• Tweaked swimming mechanics, holding "up" now aids in swimming up faster
• Updated camera during Mansion Siege to center on the action
• Tweaked Victory Tonic state to last one second longer
• Starting a New Game and Game Over now reset lives to 3
• Added a particle showing the weapon being lost when hit on Babushka difficulty
• Added "Best Time" display to the World Map for the campaign levels
• Added controller rumble

• Added Level 4-1
• Added Level 4-2
• Added Level 4-3
• Added Level 4-4
• Added Level 4-5
• Made small tweaks to every level in the campaign
• Improved checkpoints in some levels
• Fixed misplaced world tiles in some levels

• Completely overhauled music created by Nicole Marie T
• Added final art for Scuba Pig
• Added final art for Mine
• Added final art for Anchor
• Added final art for Drone
• Added final art for Sign
• Added art for Conveyor Belts (near final, we have one tweak planned)
• Added animation for Bomber Pig
• Added white metal tileset
• Added tileable wires (including Smart Tile version)
• Added tileable pipes (including Smart Tile version)
• Added controller icons for Steam Deck

• Added ability to load all campaign levels as examples in Industrial Forge
• Added ability to resize levels from the properties panel in Industrial Forge
• Added Right Stick camera movement when using a controller in Industrial Forge
• Added some controller shortcuts in Industrial Forge
• Added controller shortcuts informational display in Industrial Forge
• Added toggle for auto-drawing collision in Industrial Forge
• Added configurable settings for backup interval and max backups in Industrial Forge
• Animated the 4 main panels in Industrial Forge
• Improved Smart Tile behavior in Industrial Forge
• Improved documentation in Industrial Forge

• Addressed odd text size for "FEATURED" in Common Good
• Fixed navigation issue in Common Good
• Removed Resource total display from Game Select screen and World Map

• Fixed bugs around death and character swapping
• Fixed bug when using "Retry" after death
• Fixed bug where finishing level swaps characters
• Fixed camera following the player character on death
• Fixed missing animation transition between walking and swimming
• Fixed not being able to whistle when only 1 twin is alive
• Fixed characters showing up darkened during the mansion siege
• Fixed signs showing controller prompts for the wrong controller in co-op
• Fixed non-leading player biasing camera by holding up or down
• Fixed exploit allowing jumping up steep slopes
• Fixed Flame Pillar flames being solid
• Fixed Spike trap rendering on wrong layer
• Fixed dragging objects in Industrial Forge
• Fixed several other bugs in Industrial Forge

• Updated Credits
• There are probably other changes that we missed calling out here!

Though it's been a while since our last update we've been hard at work. This one took a little longer to put together but it's also the largest update since entering Early Access. Here's the notes.

GAMEPLAY

• Added ability to deflect bullets - deflected bullets will kill enemies
• On "Babushka" (Easy) Difficulty when a character is hit if they are powered up they will lose the power but stay alive. If they are hit again without powering up first they will die.
• Tweaked simming
• Applied terminal velocity upward so wind and waterspouts can only launch players a limited height
• Re-Implemented "gap runs" - walking will allow crossing a 1-tile gap, and running will allow crossing a 2-tile gap
• Reduced effect of bouncing off of pig enemies
• Rifle pigs will no longer charge through hotspots that would otherwise cause them to reverse
• Smart bombs now stop and flash near the player, and their explosion can now detonate other nearby smart bombs
• Updated spike trap object to be able to face any direction
• Removed level names (levels will be named 1-1, 1-2, etc)
• Updated some object soundss (Wind, Watersputs, Bullet Ricochet, etc) to not play when off-screen
• Removed unused object behind the scenes that was causing unnecessary errors to be reported
• Stopped some unecessary error reporting
• Fixed handling of players and player characters around death and respawn
• Fixed several problems related to hanlding co-op play
• Fixed signs and their prompts not responding to the player who used them
• Fixed character animation bug around death
• Fixed character animation bugs around swimming
• Fixed character animation bugs involving incorrect arm frames
• Fixed flying and swimming enemies ignoring the "Reverse All" hotspot
• Fixed level editor issue where objects couldn't be clicked (moved or erased)

LEVELS

• Added Home
• Added level 3-3
• Added level 3-4
• Added level 3-5
• Added level 3-6
• Added level 3-7
• Added level 3-8
• Fixed messed up tiles in level 2-7
• Fixed messed up tiles in level 2-8

ART

• Added Jetpig (the previous placeholder art was a pig with wings - he got upgraded to a jetpack)
• Made real smart bomb art to replace the placeholder art
• Added a few background variations for levels (Ocean, Islands, Hills variant)
• Improved mountain background
• Improved boss art and animation (boss is pretty much done, but his environment still needs work)
• Improved character weapon sprites and reworked weapon in some frames
• Updated world map to be somewhat more complete (still in-progress, especially worlds 3 and 4)
• Changed clouds on the world map
• Added metal skins for platform objects

OTHER

• For the Free Demo version we're removing the ability to download community levels, but retain access to the built-in community levels (Boneyard & Bog of Eternal Stench)
• Fixed XBox Series controller icons
• There are probably other changes that we missed calling out here!

GAMEPLAY

• Fixed a bug where checkpoints sometimes didn't work when only one character was unlocked
• Fixed a bug where the attract mode camera wouldn't follow the characters
• Fixed a bug where dying didn't always raise the "Death" screen, leaving the game stuck
• Fixed various errors that didn't break the game but clogged up the reporting tools

OTHER

• Added more start screen slogans
• When selecting a level in The Common Good the "Report" and/or "Hide" buttons will no longer be auto-selected

FIXES

• Fixed an issue where the game could be stuck in convention demo mode.

GAMEPLAY

• Added local co-op (still needs some work)
• When a follower character attacks due to a whistle they will now attack in the direction the leader is facing

ART

• improved hammer and sickle art for increased readability

OTHER

• fixed attract mode
• added tutorial signs to the first 2 levels
• in the level editor, when drawing on the "World" layer collision tiles will now be auto-added

UI

• Added Concept Art page

ART

• Fixed position of icon on Ludmil's hat

OTHER

• Work-around for bug failing to swap to living character after character death.
• Altered character death slightly so they don't move after getting hit.

UI

LEVELS

ART

OTHER

The revolution is at hand!

Create and share your own levels!

This is just the beginning!

Let your voice be heard!

Hello Comrades! We're excited to announce that we've updated the Demo for Super Marxist Twins with new art and gameplay features, and that we will be releasing in Early Access soon! The updated art pass includes new takes on our heroes Mikhail and Ludmil, as well as all of the enemies. Here's a quick look, and you can see it for yourself by trying the Demo which is available now!
Other improvements since the last update include

• Updated art for player characters and enemies
• Demo players can now access community-made levels as well as the level editor (publishing levels to the community will require purchasing the game)
• Steam cloud integration for saving your game and your levels
• Adjusted enemy timing and added visual 'alert' indicator
• Added ability to skip end-level cut-scene
• A ton of other bug fixes, gameplay tweaks, and QoL improvements

Try out the Free Demo for Super Marxist Twins! If you enjoy the game add it to your wishlist, and check in with us on Discord, Twitter, or YouTube!