Hey everyone! This Saturday during Speedy Saturday (11am PT / 2pm ET / 8pm CEST) we're doing a special Twitch stream to celebrate Distance's Workshop hitting 2,000 published levels! We'll play/discuss some of the Workshop's oldest levels, then take on some of the most recent uploads. See you on Saturday!

Special Twitch Stream: 2,000 Workshop Levels!

• Time: Sat. June 10th, 2017 (11am PT / 2pm ET / 8pm CEST)
• Place: http://twitch.tv/refractstudios

EXPERIMENTAL BUILD 5389

Our collective focus over the past couple months has been on Adventure mode (and some other secret stuff). We had to take a break from experimental updates for a bit, but now that MomoCon is over we're getting back into the "Arcade" groove. Today we're releasing experimental build 5389 which features several a wide array of improvements. Check out the changelog on the forums for more details.

Build 5389 changelog:

• http://steamcommunity.com/app/233610/discussions/4/1354868867713034626/

MomoCon, Adventure Mode Development

As Adventure mode development has accelerated forward it's been challenging to publicly discuss what we've been cooking up. We've been continually refining the visual cohesiveness of Adventure mode, how new mechanics are taught, and the overarching pacing story-wise.
A couple weeks ago we travelled to Atlanta, Georgia to take part in MomoCon which was an adventure of its own. Refract was given booth space since we were finalists in MomoCon's indie awards, and we figured why not give it a shot. We demoed a completely new demo, and the response to the new content was resoundingly positive.
On top of that we were even selected as one of the 5 winners in the MomoCon Indie Awards ceremony! Check out Mike Fahey (Kotaku) talking about the game and collecting the award here: https://twitch.tv/videos/147697061?t=20m25s
While MomoCon was a solid "marketing" event for us, I think the playtesting side of it was actually the most productive part. We still could a do a bit better in terms of teaching new players mechanics (which is half of the point of Adventure mode), but I'd say that our latest experiments certainly demonstrated an improvement. Somewhat ironically as we add more detail and intention to the environments, we're distracting the player from the task at hand. Finding that balance between gameplay and story is probably the trickiest part of creating Adventure mode. Testing with fresh players really is the best way to ensure we're riding the line as best as possible.
Thanks to all of the Distance and Nitronic Rush players that came over to say hi and chat! We had a lot of fun. Now it's back to the lab to evaluate the latest round of feedback.

June Workshop Highlight

You might have noticed that before MomoCon I updated the Workshop Highlight feature a specific creator, fzeroman. Moving forward I'd like to continue this trend with a wide variety of creators who have put out several great levels. For today I've switched back to a more traditional highlight, but if you have a specific creator you think should be highlighted in the future please let me know in the comments below! Here are this week's highlighted levels: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=923919455 http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=920953638 http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=916735824 http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=916892244 http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=879200797 http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=911414258 http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=863026353 http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=858229129 http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=895652750 http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=873422480 http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=875612049 http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=875722215 http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=923374136 http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=632713480 http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=938169628 Anyways, let us know what you think of the latest changes on the experimental branch. Hope to see this Saturday during the stream! - Jordan (@torcht for more frequent dev updates)