I'm proud to announce that the new big update for Cook, Serve, Delicious, which includes weekly challenges and local multiplayer, is now available!

Originally scheduled for later in the month, I wanted to get a portion of this game's massive update available as soon as I possibly could. So this is part one of two major updates coming this month. In this update, you'll get access to the Weekly Challenges, Endurance Mode, 12 Strike Challenges, Campaign Co-op, and all the engine and game improvements and additions outlined below. A second patch later in the month will add Tournaments, Versus and eSports modes, as well as finish up the menu designs and any gameplay balances needed.

Because of the enormity of this update, I decided to push it into a beta as I feel I need feedback to make sure the new challenges and modes are properly tuned before releasing it to everyone. To play this update, simply right click Cook, Serve, Delicious in your Library, select Properties, then click on the Betas tab and opt into the "Betas" group. The beta is PC only right now but a Mac/Linux version is coming early this week.

PLEASE MAKE SURE TO BACK UP YOUR SAVES, OR USE A NEW SAVE FILE FOR THIS BETA. Battle Kitchen has its own save file so you can unlock content in that mode across multiple saves, however like any beta saves can be volatile and it always pays to back up saves. For information on where to find your saves, visit this thread: http://steamcommunity.com/app/247020/discussions/0/864980153147332444/

Here is a list of improvements in this patch:

NEW FEATURES

• Battle Kitchen Mode added! This new expansion is unlocked at the onset and is separate from the Campaign Mode. Some of the new modes include...
  
• Weekly Challenges (1 player)- Leaderboard time based challenges with a new challenge each week!
  
• Strike Challenges (1-4 players)- Take on twelve brand new challenges on your own or Tag Team with 3 others locally! For the first time Specialty Foods are mixed into these challenges, and the gameplay has been tuned to provide the most difficult waves of food yet. Select between Standard Difficulty or Extreme Difficulty for an ever greater challenge!
  
• Endurance Mode (1-4 players)- How far can you make it as endless waves of food pour into the kitchen? Not only that, but calls from Chef Risotto has you upgrading and switching out foods on the fly, providing a unique experience that's unlike anything else in the game.
  
• 25 Indie Guest Stars- 25 characters from Indie Classics to up and coming great games have stepped into the Battle Kitchen! Unlock them by completing Strike Challenges, participating in a Weekly Challenge or going as far as you can in Endurance mode.
  
• Campaign Co-op- play with a friend simultaneously in the main Campaign! One person cooks, and the other expedites the orders. Works with your current save and is a fun way to play the game with others!
  
• All new Statistics Menu- Three pages of detailed data that uses your current save, from how many pounds of meat you've served to a breakdown of each food you've made.
  
• Enchiladas have been completely retooled to be more user friendly and faster to prepare (no more wait times needed for frying tortillas).
  
• You can now select specific recipes to practice on in Practice mode.
  

• Improved controller handling when plugging/unplugging a controller during a game. You can also navigate options and gamepad menus using the controller, and no longer need a mouse for first time gamepad setups.
  
• A new "Load Game" option allows you to exit your current game to load a new save without having to quit and restart.
  
• Utilized Game Maker's new audio engine and replaced all music with ogg files, so that there are now "clean" loops of music tracks.
  
• Utilizes Game Maker's new engine improvements that addresses a rare bug that causes memory leaks for some video cards, leading to choppy performance over a short time.
  
• Implemented new render modes. Originally an option for "High Rendering" allowed the game to render at 1080p once restarted. Now there are three options: Standard Render (displays the game at 720p), High Render (displays the game at 1080p, is the new default option), 2K and 4K renders (upscales the game for resolutions above 1080p). These can be changed on the fly and no longer require a restart. These options significantly improve graphical quality for both windowed mode and for monitors above 1920x1080.
  
• Engine improvements should fix an issue for some users that lead to crashing when going to fullscreen.
  
• You can now resize the game window in Windowed mode.
  
• Improved audio cues for certain actions. Thanks to the Nerd3 Blindfold video that inspired me to make this slight adjustment!
  

• UI overhaul on many menus to better illustrate options and features, including buttons and what can be manipulated.
  
• HD assets added for food menu icons, email menu and other elements to improve graphical quality at fullscreen. Many food icons have been completely redone to better illustrate the foods as well.
  
• Changed the visual look of the nachos, pizza, and burger bun tops for prep work.
  
• Improved the six Food Pins design for achievements and in-game display. Also improved clicknstart/Love Chef achievement icons.
  

• The game no longer saves the options when switching to fullscreen mode, preventing infinite crash loops for some users.
  
• Finally solved the rare food bug issue that caused foods to be given to the player without purchasing.
  
• Fixed the Steam Screenshot bug that caused odd outlines and incorrect alpha values in screenshots for Windows users.
  
• The Perfect Combos meter now correctly displays combos over 99 during gameplay.
  
• Gamepad input display for Pasta have been corrected (left stick prompts).
  
• Smaller other bugs have been addressed.
  

• Avatars do not load properly in the Leaderboards, and the Leaderboards do not show mode specific to where you came from. You can simply toggle them via the button above the boards.
  
• Endurance Mode final foods pictures do not load properly.
  
• The initial Leaderboards section in the Weekly Challenge menu does not have a filter selector.
  
• Gaps in between players (such as player 1 and player 3 joining a game without player 2) can cause issues.
  
• Small other oddities will be addressed when the game is released outside of beta.