We're excited to announce that, for one day only, you can get a copy of Sublevel Zero Redux for the lowest price we've ever sold it for - just $5! To get the deal, go to chrono.gg from 5PM GMT / 9AM Pacific TODAY! If you have any friends who love 6DoF shooters and/or intense VR action but have been holding off, now's the best time there's ever been to buy the game! Thanks! - Sigtrap

[ 2018-05-14 15:32:27 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi all! It's been a bit longer than we intended but we've just rolled out a minor patch. The biggest fix here is that you can rebind controls from the main menu again (oops!).

Beta Branch Update

We've got a lot more fixes on the way but we're rolling them out gradually to ensure we don't break anything in the process. There'll be a new beta up on the latest branch very shortly with some of these. So if you want to try them out please switch over and the update will be up soon! Major changes on latest will be as follows:

• Support for HOTAS menu navigation
• Improved Xbox/PS4 controller menu navigation
• Fixed infinite explosions bug on final reactor with cluster weapons
• Fixed issue where cancelling teleport with Esc would open menu

Thanks for playing! -Luke and Gary

[ 2017-07-29 20:15:06 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi all! It's been a bit longer than we intended but we've just rolled out a minor patch. The biggest fix here is that you can rebind controls from the main menu again (oops!).

Beta Branch Update

We've got a lot more fixes on the way but we're rolling them out gradually to ensure we don't break anything in the process. There'll be a new beta up on the latest branch very shortly with some of these. So if you want to try them out please switch over and the update will be up soon! Major changes on latest will be as follows:

• Support for HOTAS menu navigation
• Improved Xbox/PS4 controller menu navigation
• Fixed infinite explosions bug on final reactor with cluster weapons
• Fixed issue where cancelling teleport with Esc would open menu

Thanks for playing! -Luke and Gary

[ 2017-07-29 20:15:06 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey folks, Interested in how Sublevel Zero Redux plays in Virtual Reality? Check out our new dev diary where Luke walks you through the game, showing off some of the cool features!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jSVya0FBK0 If you're a VR player, let us know how you're finding the game down in the comments! Cheers -Gary and Luke

[ 2017-07-18 13:04:14 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey folks, Interested in how Sublevel Zero Redux plays in Virtual Reality? Check out our new dev diary where Luke walks you through the game, showing off some of the cool features!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jSVya0FBK0 If you're a VR player, let us know how you're finding the game down in the comments! Cheers -Gary and Luke

[ 2017-07-18 13:04:14 CET ] [ Original post ]

It’s finally time! The enormous free Redux expansion for Sublevel Zero is now live, including full VR support for Oculus Rift and HTC Vive!
Sublevel Zero Redux brings a remastered campaign, difficulty modes, new enemies and unlocks, and much more. As the definitive version of the game we couldn’t be more excited to get it to all of you. It’s a great moment to finally get all of this content out there, and to have the VR version done! It was back in 2014 that we first had the inspiration for this game, and it wasn’t long before we were dreaming big and imagining how awesome it would be on the (not-even-out-yet) Oculus Rift DK2. It’s been a long road, as covered in previous posts, and we’re so glad to have delivered something we’re proud of. We hope you enjoy it! -Luke and Gary Major features include:

Intro Campaign

Intended to familiarise new and existing players to the game. It's shorter and easier to introduce the core game mechanics. Once completed, the regular campaign is unlocked.

Restructured Campaign

We've introduced difficulty modifiers that scale to a variety of different player skill levels and affect enemy health, drop rates, crafting costs and Nanite life. This provides an easier introduction, with an even tougher challenge for veterans.
As you progress, harder alternate levels unlock that add more challenge as you improve. You can track your progress through the game on the new Campaign Progression tab on the menu.

Expanded Procedural Generation

We've added over 70 new rooms to further expand the game and add more variety to levels.

Full VR Support

Full support for Oculus and Vive. Weapons such as the Smartgun, Homing Missiles and Homing Swarms have lock-on capabilities which can be utilised with head tracking. There’s also a wide variety of different comfort options to suit your individual needs, including a unique Comfort Calibrator mode to help you quickly find the settings you want!

Teleporters

To reduce backtracking, Teleporters are now available at certain points to help you get back onto the critical path through levels.

New Enemies

We've created two brand-new enemies that add deadly new twists to combat.

Elite Enemies

Progressing through the game will unlock harder variations of existing enemies. These guys take more hits and punch back even harder, adding another layer of difficulty for the most experienced pilots.

Enemy Codex

By destroying enemies, this unlocks trophies in the Codex tab. Each entry gives you more information about different enemy types as well as their strengths and weaknesses.

New Starting Classes

The Seeker class is specifically designed for players to take advantage of homing weapons such as the Homing Swarm and Smartgun right from the start. It’s also perfect for VR players. The Reaver is an experimental ship bolted together by a dangerous madman. Even rumoured to indulge in cannibalism, his regard for the safety of others and himself was legendarily lacking.

Save and Quit

Leaving mid-game now gives you the option to continue from the start of your current level. One thing to note is that Hard difficulty modes disable this feature.

Trading Cards

We've had to make a last-minute adjustment, but trading cards will soon appear!

Optimisations and Performance

Levels load faster and gameplay is smoother thanks to a bunch of optimisations. There’s also an option to turn on banking which adds a great sense of weight to the ship.

Localisation

We've added French, German, Spanish, Italian and Russian localisations so you can enjoy Sublevel Zero in multiple languages.

[ 2017-07-13 21:49:09 CET ] [ Original post ]

Its finally time! The enormous free Redux expansion for Sublevel Zero is now live, including full VR support for Oculus Rift and HTC Vive!
Sublevel Zero Redux brings a remastered campaign, difficulty modes, new enemies and unlocks, and much more. As the definitive version of the game we couldnt be more excited to get it to all of you. Its a great moment to finally get all of this content out there, and to have the VR version done! It was back in 2014 that we first had the inspiration for this game, and it wasnt long before we were dreaming big and imagining how awesome it would be on the (not-even-out-yet) Oculus Rift DK2. Its been a long road, as covered in previous posts, and were so glad to have delivered something were proud of. We hope you enjoy it! -Luke and Gary Major features include:

Intro Campaign

Intended to familiarise new and existing players to the game. It's shorter and easier to introduce the core game mechanics. Once completed, the regular campaign is unlocked.

Restructured Campaign

We've introduced difficulty modifiers that scale to a variety of different player skill levels and affect enemy health, drop rates, crafting costs and Nanite life. This provides an easier introduction, with an even tougher challenge for veterans.
As you progress, harder alternate levels unlock that add more challenge as you improve. You can track your progress through the game on the new Campaign Progression tab on the menu.

Expanded Procedural Generation

We've added over 70 new rooms to further expand the game and add more variety to levels.

Full VR Support

Full support for Oculus and Vive. Weapons such as the Smartgun, Homing Missiles and Homing Swarms have lock-on capabilities which can be utilised with head tracking. Theres also a wide variety of different comfort options to suit your individual needs, including a unique Comfort Calibrator mode to help you quickly find the settings you want!

Teleporters

To reduce backtracking, Teleporters are now available at certain points to help you get back onto the critical path through levels.

New Enemies

We've created two brand-new enemies that add deadly new twists to combat.

Elite Enemies

Progressing through the game will unlock harder variations of existing enemies. These guys take more hits and punch back even harder, adding another layer of difficulty for the most experienced pilots.

Enemy Codex

By destroying enemies, this unlocks trophies in the Codex tab. Each entry gives you more information about different enemy types as well as their strengths and weaknesses.

New Starting Classes

The Seeker class is specifically designed for players to take advantage of homing weapons such as the Homing Swarm and Smartgun right from the start. Its also perfect for VR players. The Reaver is an experimental ship bolted together by a dangerous madman. Even rumoured to indulge in cannibalism, his regard for the safety of others and himself was legendarily lacking.

Save and Quit

Leaving mid-game now gives you the option to continue from the start of your current level. One thing to note is that Hard difficulty modes disable this feature.

Trading Cards

We've had to make a last-minute adjustment, but trading cards will soon appear! EDIT: 17/07/17 - Trading Cards now LIVE! Sorry for the delay.

Optimisations and Performance

Levels load faster and gameplay is smoother thanks to a bunch of optimisations. Theres also an option to turn on banking which adds a great sense of weight to the ship.

Localisation

We've added French, German, Spanish, Italian and Russian localisations so you can enjoy Sublevel Zero in multiple languages.

[ 2017-07-13 19:37:00 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone, It's certainly been a long journey but Sublevel Zero Redux is launching in a few hours. It'll be live at 10am PST/6PM GMT with a 35% discount for a week so tell your friends and help us spread the word! Also don't forget to leave reviews! They make a huge difference. We'll also be giving away some game and soundtrack keys over on our Twitter account over the next few days @SIGTRAPgames In case you've missed it, here's a brief breakdown of what you can expect in the update.
Small announcement! Our composer, the amazing Will Bedford, has revisited the Sublevel Zero soundtrack and add a few extra tracks as well as a general remastering of the audio so we'll get that updated too. There's quite a lot going on and we're incredibly happy with the update. We really hope you guys enjoy it. Any problems, bugs etc please let us know on the forums and we'll look into them. Reminder that we'll be retiring the last orignal Sublevel Zero build on a separate Steam branch and your game will automatically update to the new hotness. Thanks a lot for your continued support. -Gary and Luke

[ 2017-07-13 15:55:37 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone, It's certainly been a long journey but Sublevel Zero Redux is launching in a few hours. It'll be live at 10am PST/6PM GMT with a 35% discount for a week so tell your friends and help us spread the word! Also don't forget to leave reviews! They make a huge difference. We'll also be giving away some game and soundtrack keys over on our Twitter account over the next few days @SIGTRAPgames In case you've missed it, here's a brief breakdown of what you can expect in the update.
Small announcement! Our composer, the amazing Will Bedford, has revisited the Sublevel Zero soundtrack and add a few extra tracks as well as a general remastering of the audio so we'll get that updated too. There's quite a lot going on and we're incredibly happy with the update. We really hope you guys enjoy it. Any problems, bugs etc please let us know on the forums and we'll look into them. Reminder that we'll be retiring the last orignal Sublevel Zero build on a separate Steam branch and your game will automatically update to the new hotness. Thanks a lot for your continued support. -Gary and Luke

[ 2017-07-13 15:05:14 CET ] [ Original post ]

First of all, we would just like to thank you all for the amazing reception to Sublevel Zero since launch. Were so lucky to have such a dedicated community. As you probably know, a few months ago we launched Sublevel Zero Redux on console, with loads of new content. We're incredibly pleased to announce that, on July 13th, Sublevel Zero is getting expanded to include all of that content and more, absolutely free! Plus, were officially launching VR support for Rift and Vive! To reflect all these changes, on July 13th Sublevel Zero will be changing its name to Sublevel Zero Redux. This huge update will bring a bunch of new features, tweaks and changes that really improve the overall gameplay and structure. New enemies, unlockables and extras, and even a secret new weapon to uncover. Major features include:

Intro Campaign

Intended to familiarise new and existing players to the game. It's shorter and easier to introduce the core game mechanics. Once completed, the regular campaign is unlocked.

Restructured Campaign

We've introduced difficulty modifiers that scale to a variety of different player skill levels and affect enemy health, drop rates, crafting costs and Nanite life. This provides an easier introduction, with an even tougher challenge for veterans.
As you progress, harder alternate levels unlock that add more challenge as you improve. You can track your progress through the game on the new Campaign Progression tab on the menu.

Expanded Procedural Generation

We've added over 70 new rooms to further expand the game and add more variety to levels.

Teleporters

To reduce backtracking, Teleporters are now available at certain points to help you get back onto the critical path through levels.

New Enemies

We've created two brand-new enemies that add deadly new twists to combat.

Elite Enemies

Progressing through the game will unlock harder variations of existing enemies. These guys take more hits and punch back even harder, adding another layer of difficulty for the most experienced pilots.

Enemy Bestiary

By destroying enemies, this unlocks trophies in the Codex tab. Each entry gives you more information about different enemy types as well as their strengths and weaknesses.

New Starting Classes

The Seeker class is specifically designed for players to take advantage of homing weapons such as the Homing Swarm and Smartgun right from the start. Its also perfect for VR players. The Reaver is an experimental ship bolted together by a dangerous madman. Even rumoured to indulge in cannibalism, his regard for the safety of others and himself was legendarily lacking.

Save and Quit

Leaving mid-game now gives you the option to continue from the start of your current level. One thing to note is that Hard difficulty modes disable this feature.

Trading Cards

Long overdue, but were adding trading cards to the game on Steam.

VR Support

The game will launch with full support for Oculus and Vive. Weapons such as the Smartgun, Homing Missiles and Homing Swarms have lock-on capabilities which can be utilised with head tracking. Theres also a wide variety of different comfort options to suit your individual needs.

Optimisations and Performance

Levels load faster and gameplay is smoother thanks to a bunch of optimisations. Theres also an option to turn on banking which adds a great sense of weight to the ship.

Localisation

We've added French, German, Spanish, Italian and Russian localisations so you can enjoy Sublevel Zero in multiple languages. One final note - for anyone concerned that Redux might not be their cup of tea, weve got you covered! Well keep the original version of Sublevel Zero on a beta branch so you can always return to it if you get nostalgic! Thanks again for all your support! -Gary and Luke

[ 2017-05-25 11:57:21 CET ] [ Original post ]

First of all, we would just like to thank you all for the amazing reception to Sublevel Zero since launch. We’re so lucky to have such a dedicated community. As you probably know, a few months ago we launched Sublevel Zero Redux on console, with loads of new content. We're incredibly pleased to announce that, on July 13th, Sublevel Zero is getting expanded to include all of that content and more, absolutely free! Plus, we’re officially launching VR support for Rift and Vive! To reflect all these changes, on July 13th Sublevel Zero will be changing its name to Sublevel Zero Redux. This huge update will bring a bunch of new features, tweaks and changes that really improve the overall gameplay and structure. New enemies, unlockables and extras, and even a secret new weapon to uncover. Major features include:

Intro Campaign

Intended to familiarise new and existing players to the game. It's shorter and easier to introduce the core game mechanics. Once completed, the regular campaign is unlocked.

Restructured Campaign

We've introduced difficulty modifiers that scale to a variety of different player skill levels and affect enemy health, drop rates, crafting costs and Nanite life. This provides an easier introduction, with an even tougher challenge for veterans.
As you progress, harder alternate levels unlock that add more challenge as you improve. You can track your progress through the game on the new Campaign Progression tab on the menu.

Expanded Procedural Generation

We've added over 70 new rooms to further expand the game and add more variety to levels.

Teleporters

To reduce backtracking, Teleporters are now available at certain points to help you get back onto the critical path through levels.

New Enemies

We've created two brand-new enemies that add deadly new twists to combat.

Elite Enemies

Progressing through the game will unlock harder variations of existing enemies. These guys take more hits and punch back even harder, adding another layer of difficulty for the most experienced pilots.

Enemy Bestiary

By destroying enemies, this unlocks trophies in the Codex tab. Each entry gives you more information about different enemy types as well as their strengths and weaknesses.

New Starting Classes

The Seeker class is specifically designed for players to take advantage of homing weapons such as the Homing Swarm and Smartgun right from the start. It’s also perfect for VR players. The Reaver is an experimental ship bolted together by a dangerous madman. Even rumoured to indulge in cannibalism, his regard for the safety of others and himself was legendarily lacking.

Save and Quit

Leaving mid-game now gives you the option to continue from the start of your current level. One thing to note is that Hard difficulty modes disable this feature.

Trading Cards

Long overdue, but we’re adding trading cards to the game on Steam.

VR Support

The game will launch with full support for Oculus and Vive. Weapons such as the Smartgun, Homing Missiles and Homing Swarms have lock-on capabilities which can be utilised with head tracking. There’s also a wide variety of different comfort options to suit your individual needs.

Optimisations and Performance

Levels load faster and gameplay is smoother thanks to a bunch of optimisations. There’s also an option to turn on banking which adds a great sense of weight to the ship.

Localisation

We've added French, German, Spanish, Italian and Russian localisations so you can enjoy Sublevel Zero in multiple languages. One final note - for anyone concerned that Redux might not be their cup of tea, we’ve got you covered! We’ll keep the original version of Sublevel Zero on a beta branch so you can always return to it if you get nostalgic! Thanks again for all your support! -Gary and Luke

[ 2017-05-25 11:57:21 CET ] [ Original post ]

We've got some exciting news. More tomorrow...

[ 2017-05-25 01:50:53 CET ] [ Original post ]

We've got some exciting news. More tomorrow...

[ 2017-05-25 01:43:11 CET ] [ Original post ]

We're hugely excited to announce that Sublevel Zero is now available on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in the form of Sublevel Zero Redux!
Redux is an expanded, enhanced and remastered version of Sublevel Zero, and we've taken this opportunity to improve upon the original. With a revamped campaign, difficulty levels, a teleporter system, new enemies and unlockable elite variants of existing enemies, we've refined and extended loads of the game. We've put a lot of hard work into it and we're very proud of the result! But if you're not a console gamer, don't worry - we're not going to leave anyone behind! More news before long... So - if you're interested in playing the first Descent-like 6DoF shooter on console in over a decade, Sublevel Zero Redux awaits! You can find links to buy on the PS4 and Xbox stores on our site, buy a limited PS4 Signature Edition boxed copy from our site with collector's art book and remastered OST CD, or buy a boxed retail copy for PS4 online. http://www.sigtrapgames.com/sublevelzero/
We can't thank you enough for all your support thus far, and we hope you enjoy the fruits of our labour! -Sigtrap

[ 2017-03-08 19:20:16 CET ] [ Original post ]

We're hugely excited to announce that Sublevel Zero is now available on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in the form of Sublevel Zero Redux!
Redux is an expanded, enhanced and remastered version of Sublevel Zero, and we've taken this opportunity to improve upon the original. With a revamped campaign, difficulty levels, a teleporter system, new enemies and unlockable elite variants of existing enemies, we've refined and extended loads of the game. We've put a lot of hard work into it and we're very proud of the result! But if you're not a console gamer, don't worry - we're not going to leave anyone behind! More news before long... So - if you're interested in playing the first Descent-like 6DoF shooter on console in over a decade, Sublevel Zero Redux awaits! You can find links to buy on the PS4 and Xbox stores on our site, buy a limited PS4 Signature Edition boxed copy from our site with collector's art book and remastered OST CD, or buy a boxed retail copy for PS4 online. http://www.sigtrapgames.com/sublevelzero/
We can't thank you enough for all your support thus far, and we hope you enjoy the fruits of our labour! -Sigtrap

[ 2017-03-08 19:20:16 CET ] [ Original post ]

Just a quick update to fix a rare crash when loading later levels. This update is on latest as well as the main branch. And since Valentine's is long gone, I'm afraid your guns no longer fire hearts ;)

[ 2017-03-02 00:13:12 CET ] [ Original post ]

Just a quick update to fix a rare crash when loading later levels. This update is on latest as well as the main branch. And since Valentine's is long gone, I'm afraid your guns no longer fire hearts ;)

[ 2017-03-02 00:12:12 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi all! This has been a SUPER long time coming (weve been working hard on Sublevel Zero Redux, coming soon on PS4 and Xbox One.) but were finally rolling a huge amount of fixes and tweaks back in from the beta branch, as well as lots of other improvements! VR is still in beta, so please stay on the latest branch for that! But for now thats the only difference between beta and main builds. Finally, if you have any issues with the new build - please tell us! Weve also archived the previous main build on a new legacy branch so switch to that if you need to.

Patch Notes

Features Almost unnoticeable valentines easter egg
Improvements Controller layout diagrams Lots of weapon rebalancing Hull inventory space increased slightly Better controller button prompts Updated player ship model Updated Orb Grunt, Shotgrunt and Homing Defender models
Lots of improvements to industrial and military rooms
Procedural generation tweaks Fixes Fixed crashes during level loads Fixed some reactor issues Lots of UI fixes, mainly for controller/keyboard input Fixed some controllers not responding when multiple plugged in Fixed conflicts between custom bindings and presets Fixed issues with rebinding multiple controllers/joysticks/HOTAS Fixed tabbing away from rebinding menu Mouse is captured properly after alt-tab Notes Joysticks/HOTAS no longer have default bindings as they caused complex conflicts with rebinding and presets. However manual rebinding now works properly even with multiple inputs plugged in. Applying a controller preset will wipe ALL manual bindings!

[ 2017-02-14 18:32:33 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi all! This has been a SUPER long time coming (we’ve been working hard on Sublevel Zero Redux, coming soon on PS4 and Xbox One….) but we’re finally rolling a huge amount of fixes and tweaks back in from the beta branch, as well as lots of other improvements! VR is still in beta, so please stay on the latest branch for that! But for now that’s the only difference between beta and main builds. Finally, if you have any issues with the new build - please tell us! We’ve also archived the previous main build on a new legacy branch so switch to that if you need to.

Patch Notes

Features Almost unnoticeable valentines easter egg
Improvements Controller layout diagrams Lots of weapon rebalancing Hull inventory space increased slightly Better controller button prompts Updated player ship model Updated Orb Grunt, Shotgrunt and Homing Defender models
Lots of improvements to industrial and military rooms
Procedural generation tweaks Fixes Fixed crashes during level loads Fixed some reactor issues Lots of UI fixes, mainly for controller/keyboard input Fixed some controllers not responding when multiple plugged in Fixed conflicts between custom bindings and presets Fixed issues with rebinding multiple controllers/joysticks/HOTAS Fixed tabbing away from rebinding menu Mouse is captured properly after alt-tab Notes Joysticks/HOTAS no longer have default bindings as they caused complex conflicts with rebinding and presets. However manual rebinding now works properly even with multiple inputs plugged in. Applying a controller preset will wipe ALL manual bindings!

[ 2017-02-14 18:32:33 CET ] [ Original post ]

We’ve just added TrackIR support to the latest branch! Our apologies for taking so long on this - it’s had to be put on the back burner quite a few times. Those of you with TrackIR, let us know what you think!

Patch Notes

Features TrackIR support Level names Loading screen animation Fixes Should launch properly from SteamVR Fixed some level loading hangs (note: we’re aware there may still be some cases, and we’re on it! In the meantime if a level is taking forever to load, quit, restart the game and CONTINUE should be available) Improved UI controller navigation

[ 2016-09-19 18:35:08 CET ] [ Original post ]

Weve just added TrackIR support to the latest branch! Our apologies for taking so long on this - its had to be put on the back burner quite a few times. Those of you with TrackIR, let us know what you think!

Patch Notes

Features TrackIR support Level names Loading screen animation Fixes Should launch properly from SteamVR Fixed some level loading hangs (note: were aware there may still be some cases, and were on it! In the meantime if a level is taking forever to load, quit, restart the game and CONTINUE should be available) Improved UI controller navigation

[ 2016-09-19 17:22:44 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi all, we've just made (beta) Vive support live on the latest branch! Dive in and let us know what you think! We've rolled all our VR support back into this branch and removed the riftbeta branch. So if you're playing on your Rift, please switch back to latest. This also means all the updates and fixes on the VR branch are now in this branch, and in future all updates should therefore apply to VR and non-VR simultaneously.

Patch Notes

Bear in mind these notes are relative to the last VR build, so non-VR players will see far more changes than this. Features Vive support Unified beta on latest New cockpit VR Tips screen on main menu More VR map view improvements Performance tweaks Fixes Fixed weapon stats sometimes changing between levels

[ 2016-08-17 12:23:07 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi all! We know many of you have been waiting to play Sublevel Zero on the HTC Vive. Well, your patience is about to pay off! On Wednesday we'll be rolling out Vive support in the beta! We've also been working hard to make it as easy as possible to play Sublevel Zero in VR, and we'll be rolling the VR support into the main (latest) beta branch. You'll be able to easily select whether to play in VR or not, and this also means no more disparity between the VR and non-VR betas from now on! Please note - because of this, we'll be retiring the riftbeta beta branch. So, on Wednesday, please switch to the latest branch to play in VR. For more information, including details on a one-day-only, over 40% off sale, please check out this blog post on our site! http://www.sigtrapgames.com/sublevel-zero-vive-support-gog-beta-and-40-off-sale/

Legacy Oculus 0.8 Support

For those still on the Oculus 0.8 runtime - the older dk2beta branch will remain, but we'll be renaming it oculus08beta for clarity. Note that this has not been updated since November, and will not be in the future - unfortunately we can't port current or future code back to the 0.8 runtime.

[ 2016-08-15 13:01:35 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi all, some updates for the Rift beta. We've added an optional 'tunnelling' effect which can be really effective if you're experiencing sim-sickness. https://pbs.twimg.com/tweet_video/CoYzUmUWAAEEsqk.mp4 Plus we've fixed some random hangs, so the game should be more stable.

Patch Notes

Features

• Optional ‘Tunnelling’ effect for VR - can significantly reduce sim-sickness
• Big VR-friendly tweaks to map view

Fixes

• Fixed some random hangs
• Better menu navigation with controllers
• Fixed some minor issues with tutorial

[ 2016-07-28 12:58:07 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi all! We’ve just uploaded our first Rift CV1 beta build! It’s on a new branch - ‘riftbeta’. There’s still work to do, but we’ve made quite a lot of tweaks since the DK2 version and we’re looking forward to getting all your feedback. We’ve also added controller presets to make it easier to find a control scheme that suits you, particularly in VR. We’ll be rolling these back into the non-VR version shortly too.

Recommendations for VR

Set all graphics to minimum to start with Use the new Snap Roll mode VR-specific settings are in the Game menu So, have a go and let us know what you think :) Have fun! - Luke and Gary

Release Notes:

Features

• Rift CV1 support!
• Controller presets
• Snap roll can now be used without autolevel

Fixes

• Fixed screen shake sometimes resetting to ‘normal’
• Fixed win:loss ratio on stats screen

Issues

• Preset descriptions aren’t great! We’re working on proper diagrams.
• Reticle head-tracking can be strange sometimes
• Controller UI selection sometimes gets lost on control and crafting menus
• Still using a beta version of Unity, so please tell us if you get any crashes etc!

[ 2016-07-22 19:48:52 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi all! Per the last announcement, we've just updated our 'latest' branch with a big new patch! This adds the long-awaited stats, unlocks, blueprints and logs menus to the game.
This also includes a lot of bug fixes, as well as an update to the latest version of Unity. As such, it's a beta for now. Please give it a go and let us know if you have any problems! In particular, we've not been able yet to do any testing on Linux and OSX. We want to get this solid, and put it on the main branch ASAP. If you're not already on the 'latest' branch, you can switch to it via Properties > Betas > select 'latest' from the dropdown. Here's a more complete changelog: Features

• Added Progress menu (stats, blueprints, unlocks and logs)
• Added ‘snap’ roll mode
• Nanocart selection screen now always has at least one with no downsides
• Updated graphics options

Fixes

• Fixed most cases of overly bright lighting
• Lots of performance enhancements
• Faster level generation (but see below!)
• Lots of minor bug fixes

Experimental - please tell us if these haven’t worked!

• Fixed control settings (e.g. inversion) randomly changing
• Fixed glitchy sound in challenge rooms

Possible Issues

• Level generation should usually be much faster than before. Very rarely however it may take 1-2 minutes to generate. We know why this happens and we’re working on a fix (although it may be a while)! But if you have this, please send us SublevelZero_Data/output_log.txt as it’ll give us more info to work with.
• To fix some major bugs we’ve updated to a beta version of Unity. As such there’s a chance you could experience crashes or other unexpected issues. Please let us know!
• We’ve not yet had a chance to test on Linux or OSX at all, sorry :( There’s a good chance things will be VERY broken.

Thanks, and have fun! -Luke and Gary

[ 2016-06-30 20:20:44 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone! We’ve got a few big announcements to make. Of course, you've probably already seen the 33% off for the summer sale, so we'll move swiftly on to the other news :) Firstly, as you may have seen, we’ve just announced that we’re bringing Sublevel Zero to PS4 and XBox One later this year! This version, called Sublevel Zero Redux, will be slightly different to the PC version to make it more suitable for consoles. In case anyone’s worried though, we want to clarify a couple of things. Most importantly - this doesn’t mean we’re finished supporting the PC version! In fact, the bulk of the work on the console version is being done by Merge Games, our console publisher. The vast majority of work we’re doing on Sublevel Zero is aimed at both the PC and console versions. This includes tweaks, optimisations and new features. Secondly, on that note - we’ll shortly be adding much-requested stats, unlocks and logs screens! Using these, you can track your progress through the game, as well as see crafting blueprints to work out the parts you’ll need.


Thirdly - we’re aiming to release a new VR beta build with Rift CV1 (SDK 1.3) support in a couple of weeks time. We’ll have a bit more news on this shortly! Finally, we’d like to thank you for your patience recently as we’ve not been updating you much. Unfortunately we’ve been fighting some major Unity bugs for a few months now, which has significantly slowed us down in a couple of ways. Until now we’ve been keeping various different versions of the game on different version of Unity to work around these bugs. This has meant that it takes ages to get things done, and it’s basically become untenable. So we’ve been working hard switching all of our code over to a newer version of Unity. This version still has some big bugs, so it’s not been easy! But we’re through the worst of it (fingers crossed), hence the new features and VR version announced above. Thanks! -Luke and Gary

[ 2016-06-23 18:37:11 CET ] [ Original post ]

We've just uploaded a new beta build to the 'latest' branch. This build uses the latest version of Unity, which we'd like to test. We've been stuck on an older version of Unity for a long time now, since for some people, the newer versions caused random crashes. We're hoping the latest version has fixed this bug, so if you're willing - ESPECIALLY if you experienced these random crashes previously - it'd really help us out to see if people still get these crashes! Any and all help greatly appreciated :)

[ 2016-03-20 17:47:27 CET ] [ Original post ]

We've just uploaded a new beta build to the 'latest' branch. This build uses the latest version of Unity, which we'd like to test. We've been stuck on an older version of Unity for a long time now, since for some people, the newer versions caused random crashes. We're hoping the latest version has fixed this bug, so if you're willing - ESPECIALLY if you experienced these random crashes previously - it'd really help us out to see if people still get these crashes! Any and all help greatly appreciated :)

[ 2016-03-20 17:47:22 CET ] [ Original post ]

We've just uploaded a new build to the default steam branch, with the fixes for the slow unlocks many players have been getting. Many thanks to those who have tested this on the 'latest' beta branch, and apologies for this taking a while! We've also identified a potential issue for some Linux users with the latest Intel GPU drivers - players may find the game (along with others) crashes on launch. This seems to be a problem with the Intel drivers and the Steam overlay. We've added a section about this to the FAQs/Troubleshooting thread, so please check it out if you have any problems! -Luke

[ 2016-03-18 20:57:55 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi all! We've decided to create a new beta branch for Sublevel Zero, where you can try out features and fixes before we push out updates. If you're interested, go to the properties for Sublevel Zero, select the 'Betas' tab, and choose 'latest' from the drop-down. Please backup your PlayerData folder before switching to or from this branch! We've just uploaded an update to this branch, which should fix some issues people have been having with stats and unlocks. On which note - you may get a large amount of unlocks the first time you die or complete a run, so don't worry if that happens!

A bit of Background

As some of you may know, our publisher Mastertronic unfortunately went into administration just before Christmas, and as such we don't have access to a QA team any more. While we try to make sure that when we fix bugs we don't create others, it turns out that's been really hard without a proper team behind us! So we're hoping that some of you guys can help us out a bit. By playing the new beta branch, you can help us make sure that there are no major issues with the fixes we're putting out, and give us feedback on the changes and new features we're working on. Obviously, this is both a big ask and entirely optional, and we're grateful for anyone who can find the time to pitch in! Many thanks. -Luke

[ 2016-02-22 18:18:15 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi all! A couple of days ago we updated the game with a couple of important fixes. Firstly, we've fixed some cases of people getting random hard crashes. These were only happening to a very small number of people, but happening a lot go those who were getting them. These should be cleared up now, but please let us know if anyone's still having issues! Secondly, we've added proper support for aspect ratios other than 16:9. So feel free to play in everything from 5:4 (urgh) to 21:9 (ooooh), and the menus will now resize accordingly :) We've added a FAQs/Troubleshooting sticky to the forum. So until that (unfortunately mythical) time when the game becomes 100% perfect, it should be your first stop should anything go wrong! You should also check it for the latest notes on the VR beta version. Finally, Sublevel Zero is at 20% off for the Christmas sale! Perhaps you've been holding off or have friends who would appreciate the gift of 6DoF... Either way, with our newly released Oculus Rift beta support, there's never been a better time to buy(TM) :) Merry Christmas, and thanks for playing! - The Team

[ 2015-12-23 14:17:38 CET ] [ Original post ]

We're super-excited to announce we've just launched the Oculus VR DK2 Beta for Sublevel Zero! We hope you have fun getting lost (both literally and metaphorically) in our 3D, 6DoF world! To try the beta:

• Go to Sublevel Zero in your Steam library.
• Right click and select Properties.
• Under the Betas tab, select dk2beta in the drop down.

This requires an Oculus Rift DK2 with runtime 0.8 and the latest graphics drivers on Windows. Oculus Runtime 0.8 here: https://developer.oculus.com/downloads/pc/0.8.0.0-beta/Oculus_Runtime_for_Windows/ A few important notes -

• Firstly, and most importantly - THIS IS A BETA! There's lots of work to be done, not just on Sublevel Zero, but on VR hardware and drivers. In terms of our work, there's a lot of performance optimisation to be done, as well as including more VR friendly features and tweaks. Frame rates will probably drop below VSync now and then, and there will be some stutters.
• We strongly recommend turning off Autolevelling. Roll is always the most disorienting movement you can make in VR even if you're in control of it, and having the game do it automatically can be... bad.
• We strongly recommend turning off Volumetric Lighting. Even on high spec GPUs, this effect will probably drop your framerate below VSync.
• Loading screens are static, NOT yet VR-friendly!
• The HUD in particular will be improved for VR.

Try to take it slow to begin with, ease yourself into flying around on all axes, and have fun! -Luke P.S. I personally recommend flying around the lava caves :)

[ 2015-11-23 18:38:58 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi all! This update's a big one, and it's taken longer than originally planned, so thanks for your patience. We've got a video explaining most of the details below - check it out here! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxByx-OBrv0 There are two major parts of this update, and a big announcement too. First and foremost - Sublevel Zero is now available on Mac and Linux! Feels good to finally get these out the door :) Specific release notes are at the bottom of this post.

Challenge Rooms

Secondly, we've added an entirely new feature to the game - 'challenge rooms'. To reward exploration, the game will now often put one of these rooms at dead ends. When you go into a challenge room there are no enemies. But when you use or shoot the loot chest, the door locks and enemies spawn. You're locked in until you kill all the enemies, but you'll get a load of nanites and loot for your trouble. Furthermore, sometimes there'll be a miniboss in the room, which when killed drops a bonus nanocart to buff your ship! We think this adds an extra bit of variety to the combat, and we really hope you have fun with it! Remember that these are optional though - if you want to take it easy, maybe think twice before shooting that chest :p We've also added 20 new rooms to the procedural generation :) Finally, the announcement. It's a pretty big one.

VR Beta

On Monday, we'll be launching the Oculus Rift beta. If you own a DK2, you'll soon be able to fully immerse yourself in the glowing, low-poly, 6DoF world of Sublevel Zero! A few caveats - it is explicitly a beta! There are issues with it, we can't guarantee it'll run perfectly all the time, and there are a lot of features we plan to add. Minimum specs are of course higher than the 2D version of the game - we aim to hit Oculus' recommended minimum spec. The VR build will be Windows-only, as the Oculus runtime no longer supports other platforms. We aim to come out of beta when the consumer version of the Rift launches next year. This is a huge new frontier, so we're really looking forward to getting feedback from you guys to help us develop it!

Release Notes

Linux

• Some AMD cards and drivers (particularly, in our experience, the proprietary drivers) crash when using antialiasing in Unity. If you experience this, try to run the game with "-screen-quality noaa" minus the quotes. If this doesn't work, we recommend trying the open drivers.
• Some users may have issues with switching resolutions. As far as we can tell this is also a Unity-wide issue.
• Volumetric lighting is bugged on most cards/drivers. It's turned off by default in the Linux version but you can still try it from the Video menu if you like. You're likely to get white flashes and/or strange black triangles appearing. We're looking into solving this.
• Mice will tend to be less responsive. We recommend increasing sensitivity in the control options for now. We're actively working to fix or work around all of the above!

General We've also fixed some small bugs and generally improved performance on all platforms. Much of this is small and won't be particularly obvious, but the main ones are fixing the drop rates of hulls, and improving stuttering when picking up/comparing items. Thanks again for your patience on this one - we think it's been worth the wait, and we hope you agree!

[ 2015-11-19 17:41:18 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone! Very happy to announce that the Mac and Linux versions of Sublevel Zero will be launching next week along with another free content update. We hope you're all enjoying the game! -Gary

[ 2015-11-12 21:10:59 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone! We've got a bunch of fixes and tweaks for you, as well as some new rooms in the industrial biome both as a thank you for your support and a small peek at what's to come! We've also just made Will Bedford's incredible OST available to purchase on Steam! Changelog: - 10 new rooms for the Industrial biome - Keys appear on map - Scrolling unlock and inventory panels - Fixed run stats persisting after winning run - Turrets no longer spawn on doors - Made Stormtrooper unlock easier - Quit dialogs notify player that run progress will be lost - Changed starting loadout for some ship classes - Fixed 'using' things at closer ranges - Flux Drive Component now requires manual pickup Thanks again! -Sigtrap

[ 2015-10-19 14:39:09 CET ] [ Original post ]

We've just updated the game to fix a number of major bugs; we'll have another update in the next day or so with some more tweaks, fixes, and that extra bit of content we promised! Patch notes: - Fixed portal occasionally appearing in inaccessible location - Fixed engine crafting - Fixed ammo pickups occasionally getting 'stuck' over player's view - Added mouse rebinding (does not yet allow mouse axes to be rebound) - Fixed SOME cases of bindings being lost Hope that's helpful! Luke

[ 2015-10-15 12:35:13 CET ] [ Original post ]

Sublevel Zero is Now Available on Steam and is 15% off!*

Sublevel Zero is a first-person roguelike six-degree-of-freedom shooter set in a universe where reality is falling apart. Take control of a lone gunship pilot whose mission is to loot and craft ancient technology.

*Offer ends October 15 at 10AM Pacific Time

[ 2015-10-08 16:16:00 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone! We've finalised pricing for Sublevel Zero and are very excited to get people playing the game. Here are the breakdowns: £10.99 / $14.99 / €13.99 As a special treat, we will be launching the game at a 15% discount for the first week as thanks to early buyers! -Sigtrap

[ 2015-10-05 09:08:37 CET ] [ Original post ]