Early January Update: Extras Menu Tweak

A minor patch update is now available for Estranged: The Departure on Windows and Linux. Changes in this build:

Tweaks to the Extras menu to link to the Official Estranged Wiki

Happy 2025, and thank you for playing Estranged!

[ 2025-01-04 21:19:49 CET ] [ Original post ]

October Update: Quality of Life Changes, Official Estranged Wiki

A version update for The Departure is now live on Steam for Windows 32-bit, Windows 64-bit and Linux (version 1.5.50), including advanced graphics options, a Ukrainian translation, and quality of life fixes.

Advanced Graphics Options

Estranged now offers the following Advanced Graphics options under Options > Graphics > Advanced:

Enable Highest Model Detail - Turn off distance-based level of detail transitions for models
Enable Highest Shadow Detail - Don't scale dynamic shadow quality with distance
Enable Super Sampling - Render at 2x resolution

These options are designed to future-proof the game for future hardware (and as a result will not perform well on the current recommended hardware specifications).

Other Quality of Life Changes

Several quality of life changes are now available, including:

Supply crate tweaks so that if no resources are needed, nothing is spawned - see thread
Save/load fixes in the prelude & epilogue sections
Ukrainian translations contributed by the community

Official Estranged Wiki

There is now an official Estranged wiki available at wiki.iamestranged.com which contains all lore to date sourced from in-game materials (with some bonus extra information). Some notable pages to get started with:

Arque Corporation is a multi-national corporation responsible for Deep Sea Operations, Logistics and Chemical Research according to its website, with significant presence on the Island in the form of multiple research facilities.
The Fisherman is the main protagonist and playable character in the Estranged game series.
Infected are enemies in Estranged: Act I and Estranged: The Departure. They are humans, presumed to be previous inhabitants of the Island.

One of the motivations for compiling such a wiki was to help the development of Arctic Cold, since as you can tell by the size of the wiki there is now a lot to the Estranged universe to keep track of.

The original idea and inspiration for a wiki came from the existing Fandom Wiki (I based the structure of the official wiki on this one). The official wiki is not open to contribution, but if you see something that is missing or not quite right, please let me know and I'll fix it. -- Finally, if you're interested in a peek behind the scenes of the in-game update news feed The Departure had while it was in development, I recently posted a writeup: Update News Presentation Markup for Games. That's it for now - I hope you enjoy this update, and find the wiki interesting! Alan

[ 2024-10-13 22:37:46 CET ] [ Original post ]

Mid-2024 Patch: Localization Updates

A patch version update for The Departure is now live on Steam (version 1.5.49), including localization updates contributed by the community for the following languages: [olist]

French

Latvian

Russian

Chinese (Simplified) [/olist] Thank you to the translators who contributed updates to the translation repository, and thank you for playing Estranged! Alan

[ 2024-08-14 22:04:59 CET ] [ Original post ]

10 Year Anniversary of Estranged

10 years ago today, Estranged: Act I was released. Since then, there have been well over a million unique players, with nearly 7k reviews and the title sits with a Steam rating of 93%.
"Natural Reserve" by Er0de from the Act I Steam Community Thank you to everyone that supported the project by translating, submitting feedback, and of course playing the game. The biggest reward for a game developer is seeing people have fun with something youve built. Humble Beginnings For those that may not know the background, Estranged started as a map for Half-Life: 2 known as Splooshe (available on the Act I workshop), inspired by some of the early Half-Life: 2 screenshots. From there, the map and concept continued to evolve into a mod, and then into a standalone game (and got a better name!).
Untitled screenshot by siplaki from the Act I Steam Community The Departure After the release of Act I, Act II was born as a background project. It entered Steam Early Access in 2017 and released in 2020 as Estranged: The Departure.
" " (en: Beautiful place) by Extragamer from the The Departure Steam Community A year later The Departure released on Nintendo Switch (US, Europe) which introduced brand new audiences to the series. The title will celebrate its own 5-year anniversary later this year! Next Instalment The next instalment to follow will be Estranged: Arctic Cold, which has been in development in the background since 2020. This is a direct continuation of where The Departure ended, with enough context to also be played standalone.

Previously unseen development screenshots from Estranged: Arctic Cold A personal note: Im at the stage now where Id really like to get people playing Arctic Cold to shape the future of the game. Its nice to develop in a vacuum without the pressure of expectations, however its not rewarding; no-one is playing what youre putting together. The plan is to follow with an Early Access release of Arctic Cold later this year, and continue to develop it "in the open" as with The Departure. If you'd like to stay in touch, there is a Discord server at discord.gg/estranged Thank you for playing and following the Estranged series! Alan Cross posted on the Estranged: Act I Steam Community

[ 2024-01-16 07:29:47 CET ] [ Original post ]

Scammer Warning

There have been reports of users impersonating me on Steam and Discord, which sometimes involves a phishing attack (a fake Steam support thread directing users to contact "Alan Edwardes Official" on Discord). This is not me - here's some tips for spotting a scammer:

I will not communicate with you via Direct Messages on any platform
I am Alan Edwardes#3608 on Discord, and only communicate via discord.gg/estranged and the Steam forums for the Estranged games
If you are added by a Discord profile with my name, it is an impersonator, and the account should be reported to Discord via https://support.discord.com/hc/en-us/articles/360000291932-How-to-Properly-Report-Issues-to-Trust-Safety
If you are added by a Steam profile with my name, it is an impersonator, and the account should be reported to Steam Support via https://help.steampowered.com/en/faqs/view/4D07-D139-587C-2080
I do not work for Valve (Steam), and will never ask for account passwords, or money (I will not send a direct message to you in the first place)

Here's a short message from Alan Edwardes (Liam Jones ???), explaining the situation: [previewyoutube=65fvbLzBIdM;full][/previewyoutube] Stay safe! Alan

[ 2022-11-26 13:12:56 CET ] [ Original post ]

Early September Update: New Cheats, Translation Updates

An update with cheats and translation updates is now available for Windows, macOS and Linux!
A player screenshot from Discord user Badbadalex1#5096 New Cheats The following new cheats (requested on the forums) are available to spawn Arque guards with, equipped with various weapons:

spawn guard - Pistol
spawn guard rifle - Assault rifle
spawn guard shotgun - Shotgun (AI don't use this, just one scripted scene)
spawn guard rat - Rat Tracing technology
spawn guard laser - Assault rifle with high-powered laser

Language Updates The following languages have also received updates from the translation community:

Czech
German
Persian
Finnish
Portuguese
Slovak
Turkish
Vietnamese

I'm always around on the forums, or on discord.gg/estranged if you'd like to report bugs, or provide feedback. Thank you for playing Estranged! Alan

[ 2021-09-08 19:46:39 CET ] [ Original post ]

Early June Update: Tweaked Intro Sequence and Bug Fixes

I'm going to pretend it's already June as I released a late may update - an update is now live on Steam for Windows, macOS and Linux, including an improved intro sequence and fixes! New Wake Sequence
I recently published a blog post about creating motion-captured camera sequences using my phone, and I have now used this technique with the "wake" sequence in the Prelude (at the very start of Chapter 1). This technique isn't perfect, but allows you to simulate more subtle and "human" movements and I'll be using it with future camera animations of this kind. Weapon Firing Fix
I want to thank everyone that helped report this bug and provided me with the information to track it down - especially on the forums. Previously, when picking up a new weapon, if you went back to your old weapon and tried to use it again, you'd see the effects of it firing without it actually firing. This bug only affected a small percentage of players since swapping back to your previous weapon is quite a rare thing to do (because typically your next weapon is an upgrade). I apologise for not catching and fixing this bug sooner - since I'm wearing multiple hats (including QA) it's easy for me to get tunnel vision with regards to what I'm testing. The bug is fixed, and we can now rest easy knowing we can defend ourselves against Sokol-Glockner's skilled marksmen. As ever, I'm around on discord.gg/estranged, and post more frequent development updates there if you want to keep up with Estranged (check out the #dev-screenshots channel). Thanks for playing Estranged! Alan

[ 2021-05-31 21:04:47 CET ] [ Original post ]

End of May Update: Dynamic Global Illumination Tech Demo

There's a new Steam beta branch called gi-tech-demo, which is a version of Estranged: The Departure with only some of the levels included to showcase dynamic global illumination in Unreal Engine 5.
The Prelude level (Chapter 1 from the menu) has been adapted to allow you to control the position of the sun in the sky with the keyboard, and allow you to toggle it on and off.
All lighting in this beta is calculated in real-time, while the live version of Estranged: The Departure uses pre-computed lighting.
The live version of Estranged: The Departure won't change to use this technique, this is purely a tech demo to showcase the latest global illumination technology in Unreal Engine 5, which released into Early Access on May 26th.
To check out the tech demo, pick the gi-tech-demo branch from the "Betas" tab on the "Properties" menu for Estranged: The Departure. You need Windows, and a graphics card which supports DirectX 11 and above. This branch will not be kept updated, and does not focus on stability/performance.
To get updates like these and screenshots from development, join Discord: https://discord.gg/estranged Thank you for playing Estranged! Alan

[ 2021-05-30 15:34:34 CET ] [ Original post ]

Late March Update: Bug Fixes and Improvements

A build is now available for Windows, macOS and Linux containing improvements and bug fixes.
Bug Fixes and Improvements The following changes are included in this build (1.5.42):

Disables async loading thread since testing on other platforms revealed some instability
Improves the slider UI element when adjusted via the keyboard and gamepad
Adds a loading spinner to show while menus load
Adds quick menu transition animation
Adjusts stream-loading point in sp07 and removes vent grate (the first sewer)
Allows the stream-loading spinner to be visible at the same time as the "LOADING" banner on slower machines

If you haven't joined already, you may be interested in the Estranged Discord server. As ever, thank you for playing Estranged! Alan

[ 2021-03-24 22:12:17 CET ] [ Original post ]

Holiday 2020 Update: Blizzard Short

A new build is live on Steam for Windows, macOS and Linux including a brand new short level!
There is a new short level available in Estranged, called Blizzard. It's a short, story-driven adventure, and is a free and permanent update for the game.
The Blizzard short was made for the holiday season, but isn't directly related to it! It provides some clues about the Estranged: The Departure story, and also what might follow it. There are now a total of 3 shorts, all available from the main menu. Thank you for playing Estranged! Alan

[ 2020-12-22 16:01:37 CET ] [ Original post ]

Halloween 2020 Update: Waterfront Short

A new build is live on Steam for Windows, macOS and Linux including a brand new short level!
There is a new short level available in Estranged, called Waterfront. It's a short, story-driven adventure, and is a free and permanent update for the game. The Waterfront short was made for this Halloween but isn't directly related to it, if you were feeling a bit overloaded with pumpkins! It's an homage to the very first level that started the first Estranged game, "Splooshe" (available to download for Estranged: Act I). There are now a total of two shorts, both available in a new Extras -> Shorts menu! Thank you for playing Estranged! Alan

[ 2020-10-30 00:01:57 CET ] [ Original post ]

Early October Update: Level Improvements and General Fixes

An update is now live on Steam for Windows, macOS and Linux containing level improvements, and general fixes.

Level Improvements

The jumping puzzle in the Arque car park now doesn't require you to run and jump across at the same time, to make it easier to make it across with a gamepad.

Levels which used tesellated water now instead use a high poly mesh, since this is more performant on low end machines. You can find out more about the technique in the development blog video below: [previewyoutube=XOuzfK_vQwQ;full][/previewyoutube]

General Changes

This build also includes a bunch of other fixes to improve the overal gameplay experience:

Removes use of tessellation in the map Dock and map Ocean levels
Removes the jumping puzzle from the Arque basement car park
Playing with a gamepad now results in more damage dealt to enemies
Improves non-volumetric fog in map Crash for low end devices
Updates translations for all targets with latest tweaks and fixes
Improves stream-loading for slower devices: audio is no longer muted
Adds dedicated "licenses" menu in Extras menu section
Fixes back controller/keyboard button not working on the Arcade menu
Fixes the keyboard/controller being able to select disabled menu items
Changes the translation for "Use Steam Language" to "Use System Language"

Thank you for playing Estranged! The Discord community is around at https://discord.gg/estranged if you want to join! Alan

[ 2020-10-04 19:43:25 CET ] [ Original post ]

September Update: New Game Title

An update is now live for Windows, macOS and Linux featuring a new title for the game!

New Game Title

[previewyoutube=J7UFEdpQyf4;full][/previewyoutube] I'm excited to announce that Estranged: Act II is now Estranged: The Departure! This change is primarily to let players new to the Estranged series at a glance that it's not necessary to play Act I first.

There's no change to the content of the game other than a new startup screen. There are no plans to change the title of Estranged: Act I at this time. Other changes in this build:

Adds support for gamepad rumble, with option to turn it off
Fixes scrolling longer menus with gamepad/keyboard

I'd like to give a special thank you to those that have been following the game since development began. If you'd like to join the Discord conversation: discord.gg/estranged Note: There are quite a few things to update which can take some time to propagate. If you still see the old name after this post is an hour old (and after restarting your Steam client), please let me know. Thanks, Alan

[ 2020-09-13 12:10:56 CET ] [ Original post ]

Early July Update: Fixes and Improvements

An update is now live on Steam for Windows, macOS and Linux! This update includes some stability improvements and new cheats.

Prelude Improvements

You can now get out of the ocean more easily in the Prelude if you jump in from the dock!

New Cheats

There are new cheats available:

dropweapon - useful for dropping your current weapon if you want to take a screenshot, and can't take advantage of Nvidia Ansel
loadall - allows you to stream in all levels in the current world at once to see what they're like together (interesting when used with noclip). This cheat works in TheFall and TheBase.

Development Screenshots

I have been posting development screenshots to the #dev-screenshots channel on discord.gg/estranged - here's a rollup:

As ever - thank you for playing Estranged! If you run into any bugs or want to keep up with development, head over to https://discord.gg/estranged Alan

[ 2020-07-03 21:56:15 CET ] [ Original post ]

Early June Update: Crash Fix

An update is now live for Windows, macOS and Linux containing a crash fix!
This update overhauls the load game logic in Estranged: Act II to increase its reliability. This is in response to crash reports submitted by players, where in some circumstances a certain type of saved game could cause a crash when it is loaded. If you are able to reliably reproduce any crashes in the game, please contact me directly at alan [at] alanedwardes (dot) com or via https://discord.gg/estranged. As ever, thank you for playing Estranged! Alan

[ 2020-06-08 21:57:06 CET ] [ Original post ]

End of May Update: Localization Updates, Fixes, New Short Level

An update is now live on Steam for Windows, Linux and macOS, including a new short level, localisation updates and other bug fixes.

NEW SHORT LEVEL

There's a new short concept level available to play using the cheat map Short01 on the Extras menu. This is something I have been working on in the past week - it takes place in the Estranged universe, but isn't directly related to the plot of Act II. It is a bit of an art test, and uses all dynamic lighting. Please note that it is not intended to hit the same performance target as the singleplayer campaign, so you may notice it running at a lower frame-rate.

LOCALIZATION UPDATES

The following localisations received updates in this build: Portuguese (Portugal), German, Vietnamese, Slovak, Latvian.

FIXES

The following bugs have been fixed in this build:

Allows audio volume sliders to be set to 0%, instead of 10% minimum
Pressing the Interact button (default E) when looking at the lifeboat now moves the player into the driver's position (previously you had to look at the motor)

I'm always looking to fix bugs and improve the game, so if you see anything you'd like fixing let me know on the forums, or at https://discord.gg/estranged. Thank you for playing! Alan

[ 2020-05-31 12:34:00 CET ] [ Original post ]

Estranged: Act II Released from Early Access

Estranged: Act II is now released from Early Access for Windows, macOS and Linux! As with my last post, I would like to thank everyone that has been a part of this project. I hope that you have had as much fun playing as I have had developing it over the past 6 years. I mentioned in the post linked above about the future of Estranged, and will share more in the weeks to come after the dust settles. Join me and the other 800+ people on the Estranged Discord server if you'd like to hang out, and I'll be around in the forums to answer any support requests that might arise. I'm still looking to update the game with fixes and localisation changes, so you're interested in translating Estranged: Act II to your language or improving an existing translation, please drop by the Discord server! Thanks again, Alan

[ 2020-05-22 17:01:52 CET ] [ Original post ]

Estranged Act II Leaving Early Access

I'm excited to announce that Act II will be releasing on the 22nd of May 2020! It has taken around 6 years of spare-time work to get to this point, with just over 3 years of that in Early Access. There have been 80 content updates to the game in total across the 3 platforms supported, with 35 development blog videos and 800+ members of the Discord community. As I've promised throughout, anyone that downloaded the game during Early Access will get to keep it for free, so if you know someone that might enjoy it, let them know they can grab it for free up until the 22nd of May. On the release date, as described in the Early Access description the game will become a paid for title, for around 6 USD (and a launch discount). Since a few people have asked - if you played the free version of Act II and really want to give something back, a cool thing to do would be to gift a copy to a friend!
I was digging through the build archives, and wanted to share this build for Windows from the 30th of November 2014 - build-30-11-14-with-prereqs.zip (314 MB). This is the earliest playable build of Act II, and you can see how the first section of the game evolved into the first few levels of the game. I'll have more to say about the future of Estranged post-release: it depends on how the game is received, and whether there is an appetite for more. I would absolutely love to develop more, and there is a lot more of the Estranged story to tell. I say this every post - but I want to give a sincere thank you to everyone involved in the project. From those that tested it and submitted feedback to those that translated the game - thank you for making Estranged: Act II possible! Alan

[ 2020-05-17 19:44:47 CET ] [ Original post ]

Mid May Update: New Achievements, Easter Eggs, Fire Safety, Final Ending

An update is now live for Windows, macOS and Linux bringing the final ending to the game, two new achievements, some additional Arque easter eggs, and some fire safety devices.

Final Ending

As I said in the last news post, the previous ending was temporary but very nearly final - the game now has a final ending. Use the cheat map bunker#cinematic to jump there directly.

New Achievements

A few players have requested more achievements for the game - so there are now two more! The first is for listening to recorders, and the second is for aligning the satellite the same as its real world counterpart in the final section of the game. I would like to thank everyone that contributed achievement ideas!

Since I also get complaints about adding achievements in Early Access, I have created a guide for getting collectables for those that want to 100% the game, but don't want to play it. I would like to be clear that any Early Access game (due to it being in development) is not suitable for those continually looking to 100% a game (e.g. achievement hunters).

Easter Eggs

It might be the staying-at-home thing getting to me, but I reprised my role as Liam Jones for some live action easter eggs embedded in the game - a total of 4. Keep a look out in the Arque office areas!

Fire Safety

Arque's fire safety standards weren't quite up to standard, so work has been done to remedy that in their facilities throughout the game.

Release

I would like to thank everyone that helped test this update, and everyone that has been following the project so far. It has been a pleasure to work on Act II for such a great community, and Estranged wouldn't be where it is today without you! This will likely be one of the last content updates for Act II. I am going to start organising the full release, and (as mentioning in the Early Access blurb on the Steam store page) transitioning the game from Early Access to a paid-for title on Steam. As I have said in the past, if you downloaded the game during Early Access, you will get to keep it forever, for free. I will communicate further when a release date has been decided. If you'd like to join the community to give feedback, report bugs, or just hang out, you can do so here: https://discord.gg/estranged Keep safe, Alan

[ 2020-05-10 20:04:31 CET ] [ Original post ]

Mid April Update: New Achievements, Supply Boxes, New Ending

An update is now live for Windows, macOS and Linux bringing a brand new supply system, two new achievements, and more content at the end of the game.

Supply Boxes

Act II now has a new supply box system, similar to the supply crate mechanic in Half-Life 2. Previously, supplies would be spawned as needed by the player in specific locations in the game. This lead to pickups being created and dumped at certain corners of levels, and sometimes lead to too many items being spawned (because the player needed them when they were spawned, but no longer needed them when they were close enough to pick them up). To make that system a bit tidier, the game now uses supply crates throughout, which still spawn only supplies that the player needs, but when they are opened. They're also quite satisfying to break apart!

New Achievements

There are two new achievements to unlock in Act II! One is for destroying all 20 Arque cameras from around the game, and the other is for completing the game.

In addition, the existing achievement icons have been re-worked to make them more consistent.

New Temporary Ending

I have moved the ending further back - this time it's extremely close to the final planned ending for Act II. The ending content includes two new recordings from John, and a revamped credits sequence.

Full Change List

Adds new achievements menu in the "Extras" menu option
Improves collision for wooden table
Improves collision in the scaffolding/generator level to prevent player getting stuck
Prevents player getting stuck behind the dumpster outside Arque offices
Adds many more cameras to the game, brings the total to 20
Updates translations
Re-orders the controls menu to group by input type
Adds new credits sequence - hit "Load Credits" on the "Extras" menu
Re-records final recorder message with John
Adds ledge helper to conference room in Arque offices to help with getting into the vent
Adds "game saved" hint to HUD when autosaves happen
Reduces the screen shake from pistol and rifle fire
Increases rifle rate of fire
Removes bullet impact delay
The new resupply crate now always spawns an item
Improves collision for hospital drawers in final scene, makes drawer openable
Tweaks to the final sequence, adds credits (this is still a temporary ending, but very close to the final ending)
Splits final audio tape into two parts
Fixes the new supply crate spawning batteries when the player does not have the torch
Makes recorder stop if the player gets more than 1500 units away
Adds highlight to the radios dotted around the games
Modifies the object highlight to use a shimmer
Adds a few invisible walls to places where the player could escape the levels
Prevents pickaxe from falling through wooden boards in sp03
Fixes bug with cameras - the move sound no longer continues when they are destroyed
Fixes tessellated water not working
Fixes lighting on pier models
Fixes Linux specific rendering issue with spline meshes and Nvidia driver version 440 and above

We're all in very uncertain times right now, but I hope Estranged will give you a bit of a distraction from the news. Thank you for playing Act II, and supporting the project! The ever-growing Discord community is always around at https://discord.gg/estranged if you want to reach out to report bugs, feedback or just talk. Stay safe, Alan

[ 2020-04-13 14:50:42 CET ] [ Original post ]

Early March Update: Ending Content

Brand New Content

There is now more content after the "cold" scene, at the end of Act II with the return of an old friend.

To start from the "cold" scene, you can use the cheat map arctic#cinematic

Full Change List

Adds new story scene after the current "cold" scene
Moves credits to after the new content
Fixes floating camera in the range
Fixes two doors sharing the same save ID in in chapter 3
Adds captions and subtitles to new content
Work on sound for the new scene, adds ambience and sound effects
Tweaks layout of the in-game credits
Fixes corpses registering for the "deadly fisherman" achievement
Updates translations to latest

This update brings you very close to the planned end of Estranged: Act II. If there are elements of the game you'd like me to change, please do let me know via the feedback mechanisms below (before it gets too late!). You can contact me in the comments here, using the in-game feedback, emailing alan [at] alanedwardes (dot) com or via Discord - https://discord.gg/estranged Thank you for being part of the Estranged project! Alan

[ 2020-03-08 18:00:10 CET ] [ Original post ]

Late February Update: New Game Trailer

I have been taking a break from development for a week to plan, shoot and edit a new trailer for Estranged: Act II! Here's the finished product, available on YouTube (4k, 60FPS), and on the store page (in 1080p). [previewyoutube=de4BaFiGYd0;full][/previewyoutube]

Behind the Scenes

Part 1 - Storyboard The main structure of the trailer was something I planned out first, with the rough storyboard completed within an evening.

Part 2 - Script The next part was the script, since in the trailer you can hear John's voice setting the scene from his perspective.

MUSIC, FADE FROM BLACK
John: The island seemed like the perfect place.
John: Tranquil
John: Picturesque
MUSIC FADE TO ECHO, CUT TO BLACK
John: Isolated
MUSIC
John: They didn't tell us what had happened
John: I don't think they even knew
John: But they tried to cover it up
John: How can one company sow so much destruction
John: I need to find a way home

Part 3 - First Draft After that, the work on the video began! I completed the first couple of shots with the music and voice over in place. Here's the very first draft video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foJHTwJBkrs Part 4 - Daily Drafts to Completion I made in total 8 drafts, uploading around 1 a day until the trailer was complete. Working like this helped me keep the end in sight, and helped with giving myself a daily goal of uploading a draft showing more progress. I was also able to circulate the drafts amongst my family and friends, which was extremely valuable to garner feedback. Below is the final trailer edit!

This trailer will likely be the release trailer for the game! Watch this space for the next updates, which will conclude the story of Estranged: Act II. Thanks for playing Estranged! Alan

[ 2020-02-23 22:23:50 CET ] [ Original post ]

Early February Update: New Ending Scene, Flashlight in Chapter 3

An update is now live on Steam for Windows, macOS and Linux, including new content, the flashlight in chapter 3, and some other tweaks.

New Ending Scene

There's a new scene connecting the two ending sequences in Act II. This new sequence provides a bit more backstory about how the Fisherman ended up in the current credits location! To jump directly to this content, you can use the cheat: map crash#cinematic

Flashlight in Chapter 3

After many player requests, you can now pick up the flashlight in Chapter 3! The flashlight is available in the Arque offices. It was originally going to be re-introduced much earlier, however some performance problems prevented that (these have since been resolved).

Working Towards Release

As I have been saying for a the past few updates, I am working towards releasing the game, which involves tying off the final bits of content and my release checklist. The content of the updates will slow down during this part of development - but I am looking to focus on stability. If you notice anything that you'd like to see fixed, please let me know in the #bugs channel on the Estranged Discord server (below). Thank you for helping with the project! Join discord.gg/estranged to report bugs, provide feedback and submit ideas! Thanks, Alan

[ 2020-02-09 11:08:13 CET ] [ Original post ]

Late January Update: Gunplay Tweaks, More Ending Content

A build is now live on Steam for Windows, macOS and Linux with new ending content, and some improvements to weapon handling!

New Ending Content

There's now some extra content at the end of the game, a couple of minutes of new content. I decided to push this into the game while I flesh out the section after it, which will land in the next update (and likely tie-off Act II's story). To jump directly to the new content, use the cheat map crash#cinematic (this will take you to the end of the previous update).

Gunplay Tweaks

There have been two big changes to the gunplay in Act II:

Running and gunning now results in the correct animation
Holstered weapons can no longer be shot (until unholstered)

The first item above was caused by the "running" animation for most weapons not being appropriate for firing at the same time. For example, with the rifle, the running animation previously held the weapon close to the player's chest, and attempting to shoot in this state led to it snapping back into the shooting animation and back again. The second item around holstering was very similar, previously if a weapon was holstered, shooting it would immediately yank it out of the holster animation, and back into it again after the shot was fired.

Other Changes

Fixes a floating camera in the range level
Fixes a place you could get stuck in the scaffolding in the generator level in the mine
Switches from OpenGL to Vulkan on Linux
Added an option to invert the controller Y-axis

With Act II's final scenes approaching, I would again like to thank everyone that has been following and contributing to the project. If you have feedback or would like to report bugs, please reach out on discord.gg/estranged Thank you for playing! Alan

[ 2020-01-26 15:21:28 CET ] [ Original post ]

Mid December Update: More Content, Weapon, and Achievement

A build is now live on Steam for Windows, macOS and Linux with new content, a new weapon and improvements to the arcade game mode!

Street Content

There's now more content around the street level, just after the Arque office building, with a set of new enemies to boot. Use the cheat map TheBase#sp05 to jump there!

Hammer Weapon & Arcade Changes

There's now a hammer weapon in Estranged: Act II, which is available in certain places in the single player story. The Warehouse arcade level now has a lot more weapons available to the player, allowing you to pick from the Pistol, Rifle, Pickaxe and Hammer to fight the horde.

New Achievement

There's a new achievement, "Barista", which can be obtained by tidying the coffee table in the lecturing room in the Arque offices.

Other Changes

Fixes to the resolution selector in the screen menu
Changes to freeze AI characters during loading screens
Upgrades from Unreal Engine 4.22.3 to 4.24.0
Adds a new developer log if "on-screen statistics" are enabled
Fixes a bug where spawning in water would not muffle the sound
Fixes bug with closed captioning around infected character chasing
Enables frame rate smoothing to avoid hitches due fluctuation
The view under-water is now downsampled (since it is blurry anyway) using a custom full-res blur
The web browser has now been removed from Act II, since it was the source of many post-shutdown crashes
The in-game news has now been replaced by a native UI widget driven by iamestranged.com

As with every update - thank you for playing Estranged! I'm around at https://discord.gg/estranged if you'd like to provide feedback, or just hang out with the Discord community. Alan

Hotfix 1.4.10 & 1.4.11

A hotfix update is now live to address the following issues:

Fixed a problem with the "Flushed Away" achievement, since items could no longer be flushed down the toilets in-game
Removed the Christmas menu background from rotation since it needs some work
Fixes issue with crabs in Prelude
Fixes issue with the screen flashing white when certain materials in view
Fixes weapons disappearing through the floor when dropped

[ 2019-12-17 21:12:15 CET ] [ Original post ]

Late November Update: Mac is Back!

macOS Support

Estranged: Act II is now available on macOS, and I will try to keep it as up to date as possible with its Windows and Linux counterparts.

The addition of macOS as a supported platform for Act II helps realise one of my goals for the project: to make Estranged available to as many people as possible, on whichever platform they chose. If you're interested in some of the technical challenges behind this work, you can read about how I automated the macOS build process (the same as I have for Windows and Linux) on my blog.

Content Work

In addition to the macOS build, I have been continuing the story of Estranged: Act II, and working to bring the story of Act II to a close.

If you'd like to try out the current ending, you can by opting-in to the Steam "development" beta version of Estranged: Act II, and using the cheat map TheBase#sp10. I would like to thank you for your continued support of the Estranged project, and I hope you will play the next few updates, leading up to the release. As ever, I am available to talk to directly on Discord at https://discord.gg/estranged, or via the in-game feedback if you'd like to let me know what you think. Thank you for playing Estranged! Alan

[ 2019-11-25 21:29:49 CET ] [ Original post ]

Early November Update

Update 1.3.5 is now live on Steam for Windows and Linux, including French translations, and more content work for the Shooting Range arcade level! This update should be compatible with old save files - this release serves as a test to ensure I can continue to add content post-release, and not break save files.

Shooting Range Updates

There have been a few updates to the shooting range, including access to all of the weapons in Act II, not only the pistol. The range also has a few added easter eggs for you to find!

French Translations

Act II is now translated to French! This unlocks the game for a lot of French-speaking players worldwide, which is something I am very excited about.

Background Work on New Content

I have been working on content to continue the current final level - but that's not ready to play just yet. Watch for future builds for more content! As with every update, if you have ideas for features you'd like to see, let me know on the Steam Forums or https://discord.gg/estranged Thank you for playing! Alan

[ 2019-11-03 17:40:36 CET ] [ Original post ]

Mid October Update

There's a new update for Estranged: Act II on Steam for Windows (with Linux to follow soon), including continual work on the ending content, a re-work of the subtitle system to support captions and more!

Subtitle Improvements & Captions Support

The subtitle system has been re-worked to allow for "stacking" of subtitles, and support for captions (which can be enabled in the Sound menu).

The size and font of subtitles can also be changed in the new Interface menu if you find the default too large or small, or you have trouble reading the font.

Controller Button Re-Binding

The Controls menu has been split into a "Keyboard Bindings" and "Controller Bindings" menu, which supports the re-binding of controller buttons alongside keyboard and mouse buttons. The subtitle re-work and controller button re-binding features were mainly aimed at making Act II accessible to all. If you have ideas for other improvements to make the play experience better for you, please let me know!

Vietnamese Translations

Act II now supports Vietnamese, thanks to a community contributor! This brings the total number of complete and partially complete languages supported up to 23! I would like to thank all of the translators in the community for their help with this - if you would like to help out, contact me on Discord! Thank you for playing and shaping Estranged: Act II! If you'd like to submit feedback directly, join me and the rest of the community on Discord - https://discord.gg/estranged Alan

[ 2019-10-19 21:38:09 CET ] [ Original post ]

Late September Update

There's a new update for Estranged: Act II on Steam for Windows and Linux, including story and content work!
I have been working on the current final level, extending out the current ending with content and destruction sequences, and adding details to the prelude and chapter 3 office levels. There's additional story included in Chapter 3 in the addition of a slide presentation, similar to Act I. Localisation work for this presentation will be coming soon.
The update also includes various bug fixes, graphical tweaks (including more realistic sky for Chapter 3) and some playability improvements. I would like to thank everyone that has played and helped with development so far - the community has been pivotal in shaping the game, and finding bugs. As I have said before, Act II is drawing to a close - so this and the next few updates will be critical in finishing off and polishing the game so it can come out of Early Access. Thank you for your continued support! If you'd like to chat with me and other members of the community, please join us at https://discord.gg/estranged Alan

[ 2019-09-21 15:40:25 CET ] [ Original post ]

End of August Update: More Content, Bullet Ricochet, Statistics

There's a new update for Estranged: Act II live on Steam for Windows, with Linux to follow in the next few days!

Bullet Ricochet

Bullets now ricochet from hard surfaces such as metal, rock and concrete. This can be combined with bullets travelling through infected - so you could kill multiple infected using a single bullet shot at a certain angle at the floor or wall.

Statistics

There are now local and global statistics available in Estranged: Act II. The tracking of these statistics started with the previous update, and include things such as "headshots", "bullets fired", "items flushed" and more. The new statistics can be accessed via Extras -> Statistics. -- That's it for this update! If you find bugs, have some ideas you'd like to see in Estranged, or just want to chat, head over to https://discord.gg/estranged -- we just surpassed 500 members! Thank you for playing Estranged! Alan

[ 2019-08-25 12:32:51 CET ] [ Original post ]

End of July Update: Traduccion al Espaol, New Achievements, AMD Fixes

There's an update live for Windows including Spanish translations, 4 new achievements and fixes for AMD-FX players!

New Achievements

There are now 4 new achievements in Estranged: Act II!

AMD-FX CPU Fixes

Previously there were a series of mysterious problems with Act II and AMD-FX CPUs, with no obvious cause. After spending a long time researching the subject, I found that it was related to the DirectX XAudio API with AMD-FX CPUs, and Estranged: Act II was not the only game suffering from the problem. The short story is that the problem is now fixed, and the game now uses a different audio engine which doesn't go via XAudio!

Traduccion al Espaol (Spanish Translations)

Saludos desde Inglaterra! El juego ahora est traducido al espaol, incluidos todos los mens, subttulos, correos electrnicos y noticias! Si quieres contribuir a mantener la traduccin al da o hacer alguna correccin, ponte en contacto conmigo en https://discord.gg/estranged ! As ever, thank you for playing Estranged! I'm always around on Discord, the forums, or via the in-game feedback if you'd like to suggest an idea or report bugs. Alan

[ 2019-07-28 20:51:21 CET ] [ Original post ]

Mid July Update: , Commentary and Music Improvements

A new update is live on Steam for Windows, including Simplified Chinese language support.

Commentary

The commentary option has returned to the Gameplay options menu, bringing with it a selection of strategically placed videos from the Estranged Development Blog series on YouTube.

(Simplified Chinese Translation)

discord.gg/estranged

Music Improvements

The music in Estranged now follows you through the loading screens, and fades out instead of ending abruptly. This improves the overall flow of the game, and I'll be looking to make more improvements in this area in future updates.

New Language Menu

Estranged: Act II now supports 22 languages in total, with 10 of those languages 100% complete. The previous option for switching languages was in the Gameplay menu, but it used a side-scrolling control to switch between languages which made it difficult to do so. To improve this, there's now a dedicated options menu for picking a language. Tha'ts all for this update. If you have any feedback, I'm always watching the forums, or I'm around at https://discord.gg/estranged. Thank you for playing Estranged! Alan

[ 2019-07-13 13:42:55 CET ] [ Original post ]

Late June Update: New Ending Scene,

There's a new update on Steam for Windows! This update includes a new ending, and a complete Russian translation!

New Ending Scene

There's a new scene and more content at the end of the current build! This provides a glimpse at more of the story in Estranged: Act II. This is a temporary ending that I teased in my last news update, and there is a bit more content planned after this point. To jump there directly, use the cheat "map TheBase#sp10".

(Russian Translation)

! , , , , ! Gengo , : discord.gg/estranged

Japanese and Czech Translations

The game has also almost completely been translated into Japanese and Czech by members of the community, with more languages on the way. My next focus will be Simplified Chinese, which represents the second most popular language on Steam (Russian being the third).

Thank you to everyone that has helped out with the project, and those that are following the progress. If you have any feedback, want to report a bug or just want to say, head over to discord.gg/estranged Thanks for playing Estranged! Alan

[ 2019-06-30 21:45:41 CET ] [ Original post ]

Early June Update: New Achievements, Vending Machines

There's a new update on Steam for Windows including two new achievements! A Linux build will follow in the next few hours.

Continued Content Work

This update is mainly to add some goodies to the game while I continue the current final level. Here's a sneak peak of what I'm working on - not yet available in the Steam version!

There have also been a couple of visual tweaks to the current final beach level. As I've said in previous posts, updates will be smaller in terms of content going forwards, as I work towards bringing Act II to a close.

Vending Machines

To add to the interactivity in the levels, vending machines now dispense bottles and cans!

Arque Water Achievement The new vending machines include Arque branded water vending machines. This update adds an achievement for dispensing all of the Arque water bottles! Headshot Achievement There's also an achievement for getting at least 5 headshots with a firearm, in any gamemode. I'm looking to add a bunch more achievements in future updates, so watch this space! -- Feedback is always appreciated - join the ever-growing community at https://discord.gg/estranged Thanks for playing Estranged! Alan

[ 2019-06-09 20:52:38 CET ] [ Original post ]

Late May Update: Graphics, Gameplay and Flushable Toilets

There's a new build on Steam for Windows and Linux! This build includes graphical changes, gameplay changes and some general work on stability.

Forest and Beach Level Updates

There have been changes to the sky and sun/moon light in general, but specifically in the forest and beach areas the lighting and overall visual style has been overhauled.

Reflections

The game now uses screen space reflections throughout, meaning that reflections look much crisper and update in real-time.

Pick-Up Physics Improvements

Previously, when picking up an object, it would be teleported, rather than moved using the physics engine. This update brings physical simulation to held objects, so they interact with the world and other physics objects in a more robust manner. A side-effect of this is that they feel a little springier when held.

Flushable Toilets

Some (unfortunately not all!) toilets in Estranged are now flushable. This was a requested feature. I'm not kidding!

Other Changes

Adds -lowendmachine command line switch to force blocking on load (instead of background streaming of levels)
Adds a small loading indicator to the HUD to show when level streaming is happening
Replaces current loading screens with a spinner
Adds a splash screen on startup to replace the splash screen in the menu
Switches to the deferred shading pipeline - this allows more graphical features (like screen space reflections), but will perform worse on lower end hardware

As I've been saying for a while, I'm working on the final content for Act II, so updates may slow down while that happens. If you'd like to provide feedback, join the community at https://discord.gg/estranged ! Alan

[ 2019-05-29 20:35:35 CET ] [ Original post ]

Early May Update: Capture Scene

There's a new build available on Steam for Windows and Linux!

Capture Scene

There's a new voiced scene available in Chapter 3! This scene provides more context around the involvement of private security firm Sokol-Glockner in Arque's activities on the island.

To watch the new scene, simply start a new game at Chapter 3 from the new game menu, or use the cheat "map TheBase#sp01".

Other Changes

Language names on the Gameplay menu are now localised
All menu UI controls now allow text wrapping for languages with longer phrases
It's no longer possible to close the door in the warehouse scene
Improves weapon reflections

Thank you for playing Estranged: Act II! If you have any feedback, I monitor everything submitted in-game and via email at alan [at] alanedwardes (dot) com. Join the ever-growing community at https://discord.gg/estranged! Alan

[ 2019-05-04 19:56:03 CET ] [ Original post ]

Late April Update: New Content, Music and Achievement!

There's a new update available on Steam for Windows and Linux! This update includes more music throughout the game, work on existing content, changes to how hints work to better support controllers, and a new achievement!

Content

There have been some changes to the underground archeological dig site in chapter 3, along with some small details added to the sewers from chapter 2.

Music

Music has been added to several locations around Act II, with music loops now used in the prelude, the office level, the forest level, and the archeological dig site. This allows music to loop in one area, and to smoothly transition when you move to a different area.

New Achievement

After many players asked for it, there's now an achievement for depositing the fisherman's ducks into his bath in the prelude!

Hint Overhaul

The prelude now has a lot more hints, including some reminders around how to interact with objects and pick them up. The hint display now shows an icon for keys rather than simply the text, and has support for Xbox One/360 controller icons. The controls menu has been tweaked too to use the new hint icons, so the experience is consistent throughout the game. The control names are now localisiable too!

Other Changes

"Jump assist" has been removed in favour of increasing the height that the player can jump
Adds controller button for aiming (left trigger) and remaps crouch to face right (B on the Xbox controllers)
Improvements to HUD damage indicators - if you are damaged from multiple directions, all directions will show on the HUD
Bug fixes around save/restore since the previous build

As ever, thanks for playing Estranged! If you'd like to chat, you can join the now 400-player strong Discord server at https://discord.gg/estranged Alan

[ 2019-04-27 20:55:02 CET ] [ Original post ]

Mid April Update: Content Work HUD Changes

There's an update live on Steam for Windows! This build includes changes to existing content, and an oxygen meter for the HUD.

Content Changes

The office level has received a visual update, geared towards streamlining the performance and providing more focus on the mystery person roaming the offices.

The forest has also received a visual overhaul, along with the street level later in the game.

Oxygen Meter

There's now an oxygen meter in Estranged, visible when the player ducks underwater! This will help with the swimming sections, where previously you couldn't see how much oxygen was left.

Other Changes

HUD re-write - the HUD now properly scales with different resolutions, and supports non-latin/greek based languages
Khmer language support - community member HourDM contributed translations to Cambodian. This is the first non-latin/greek based language to be supported in the game!
Work on light bleeding - there have been changes to the lighting across the whole game, with bleeding now less evident across all levels
Water tessellation in the ocean level

Estranged: Act I Workshop Support

The first Act of Estranged now supports the Steam Workshop! Head over to the annoucement post to find out more. https://steamcommunity.com/games/estrangedact1/announcements/detail/1723097746710754566 As ever, thanks for playing Estranged! If you'd like to get in touch, the ever-growing Discord community is the best way - https://discord.gg/estranged Alan

[ 2019-04-15 21:39:35 CET ] [ Original post ]

Mid March Update

A build is now live for Windows and Linux, including new content, a tweak to how weapon ammo is consumed, voice work and improved collision meshes for some objects.

Beach Content

I have been working on more story and level content, leading up to the final scenes of the game. I'm not releasing the final content just yet, but I have included some of the new content to give you a preview of what is to come.

As I have said in previous posts, content updates might slow down during this time while I focus time on this ending section, but I'll do my best to continue to push builds with other improvements to gameplay and the earlier content in the meantime.

Act II Now Stays in your Steam Library

One thing I have been saying for a long time is that if you download the game while in Early Access, you will get to keep it forever, for free. Some of you may have noticed that Act II is now appearing back in your Steam library as a result of this - it is now "sticky", meaning it won't disappear as other free titles do. See the following thread for discussion: https://steamcommunity.com/app/582890/discussions/0/3454730619115546231/

Other Changes in this Build

Weapon Ammo - Picking up a weapon with the same ammo type as your weapon now consumes the ammo, instead of replacing your weapon
Toilet Collision - The rubber ducks can now be placed into the toilet in the Prelude (this was a highly requested feature)
New Voice Clips - The voice clips in the mine have been replaced by a native Scottish speaker (previously it was me putting on an accent)

Thanks for playing Estranged: Act II! As I said above I'm working towards completing Act II in the next few months, so all feedback is welcome to feed into this process. I will still be able to release updates once the game is finished, but making changes to some parts becomes more tricky due to saved games. https://discord.gg/estranged Alan

[ 2019-03-17 12:27:12 CET ] [ Original post ]

Early March Update: New Infected, New Content More!

A build is now live for Windows and Linux including new infected, content and various improvements and tweaks to gameplay.

New Infected & Continued Underground Content

There's a new infected type in town! To explore the newer content which introduces the new enemy and provides the story background around how they got there, head over to Chapter 3 (or use the cheat map TheBase#sp07 to jump directly there).

There's also little more content to accompany the current ending, welcoming back a familiar story element. Keep watching for more content in the next few updates!

Cheats Auto-Complete

The cheat entry box on the Extras menu now auto-completes, allowing you to see a list of cheats up-front. Start typing "map" or "spawn" to show a full list of cheats.

Other Changes

Jumping up on surfaces is now animated - previously it looked as if the player was teleported
It's no longer possible to bypass picking up the pickaxe in the mind
The pickaxe now breaks in the sewer level to make the chase scene feel more dangerous, and the pickaxe can now deal damage to infected characters later in the game
Water footstep sounds - walking in water now has more ambient noise
In the warehouse horde, the infected corpses are now cleaned up
The rubber ducks in the prelude level now float upright!

The always growing Discord community is around at https://discord.gg/estranged if you'd like to chat with other Estranged players or feed back directly to me! Thanks for playing Estranged! Alan

[ 2019-03-02 20:36:44 CET ] [ Original post ]

Mid February Update: Pirates, Treasure and Content

A new build is live on Steam for Windows! The third update of 2019 brings brand new story content.

Continued Story Content

The fisherman's adventure continues! The new story content includes brand new scenes, more recordings from new characters and more. To jump directly to the new content, use the cheat "map thebase#sp07" (though I'd recommend starting from Chapter 3 on the New Game menu if you haven't played in a while).

Uncover more of the story of Act II, and origins of the modern day infection on the island!

More Detailed Textures

Most areas in Estranged have now received a pass with more detailed textures, leveraging a technique known as "detail textures". This allows existing surfaces to mix lower resolution textures with higher resolution patterns when the player is closer to them, providing more detail up close.

That's it for this build - my focus from this point on is content, working towards the ending of Estranged: Act II. As ever, thank you so much for playing - join me on Discord if you'd like to chat, report bugs directly, and get updates about Estranged! https://discord.gg/estranged Alan

[ 2019-02-16 22:51:38 CET ] [ Original post ]

Late January Update: Story Content, Death Poses and Rubber Ducks!

A build is now live on Steam for Windows and Linux! The second update of 2019 brings brand new story and level content, polish and more.

Brand New Radio Messages

After receiving feedback about the radio scenes with John, and thinking about what and how story should be discovered by the player, I have re-recorded all of the radio scenes with John. Since finding a radio and talking to him directly is a little too convenient to be believable, you can now listen to John as he broadcasts out in an effort to escape the Arque signal jammer. There are 7 radio messages to listen to in all, with a few more planned for future content.

Death Poses

The human enemies now play animations just before death. This is an effective way of making the death look more realistic, and prevents the "flop" into physics simulation, which looks very unnatural. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tcg_3D7L13E

Rubber Duck Technology

There have been a few visual tweaks to the Prelude level, including the addition of high tech rubber ducks! There may be an achievement around these eventually, however for now they're just fun to play with. This is my personal favourite part of this update!

Pacing Tweaks and Level Additions

The forest infected ambush has been tweaked slightly, and the Fisherman no longer encounters the lone Sokol guard at the train tracks. Instead the guards are introduced later on. In addition to the changes above, there's now a small lab section in Arque East's lower level.

HUD Tweaks

Previously the health and battery displays would hide a section of the health and battery, so between 85-100% and 0-15% health was not visible. This has been fixed, along with some changes to reduce fall damage. Subtitles have also been revamped, now scaling with the screen resolution as the other HUD elements do, and now have some sleeker animations. The subtitles also hold for an extra second after dialogue finishes, to provide an opportunity to continue reading it.

CEO Bear Cheat

CEO bear can now be spawned using the cheat "spawn bear"! This will never be part of the game itself, but this Easter egg allows you to spawn in a strange looking furry friend, who will run around in areas that include AI.

As ever, thank you for playing Estranged, and thank you to those who are involved with the project - whether it is providing feedback, translating or just playing through. Join the Discord! https://discord.gg/estranged Alan

[ 2019-01-27 16:41:40 CET ] [ Original post ]

Early January Update: Animals, Insects and Birds!

Happy 2019! A build is now live on Steam for Windows and Linux! The first update of 2019 brings visual updates and new wildlife to areas of the game.

Animals, Insects and Birds

There's now a plethora of wildlife in Estranged - crabs, moths, birds, rabbits, snails, ants, fish, rats and eels throughout the game. See if you can find them all!

Graphical Improvements

Estranged: Act II now supports ambient occlusion, enabled by default.

This can be disabled in the Advanced Graphics menu (Options > Graphics > Advanced). Motion blur is now disabled by default to make the game feel a lot snappier. There is now subtle eye-adaptation in the game, meaning that darker areas get brighter, and brighter areas get darker depending on the current brightness levels.

Development Blog Videos

I published three development blog videos since the last update, covering some of the animal AI and foliage culling! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XImbCvbX_U4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwRaZBPhpDA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjIatHHLZck

I have a lot more content planned for 2019, so stay tuned to continue the adventures of the fisherman! If you'd like to provide feedback, you can do so in the comments below, using the in-game feedback, or join https://discord.gg/estranged to chat in person! Thanks for playing Estranged! Alan

[ 2019-01-08 21:00:29 CET ] [ Original post ]

Late December Update: New Infected, Music and More!

A festive build is now live on Steam for Windows! This update will be the last Estranged: Act II update of 2018 - watch this space for a 2018 roundup!

New Infected

There are new infected characters in town!

The visuals have been overhauled, but the infected sounds have been changed too - they now make sounds while chasing you, and different sounds when attacking.

Chapter Titles & Save Game Thumbnails

There are now titles for each Estranged: Act II chapter. This provides a more polished experience while playing, and an insight into the theme of each chapter. I would highly recommend playing from the start to experience all of the changes!

A long requested feature, the save game menu now has thumbnails! To find out how, here's a dev blog video giving the technical overview. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSaAiYBTJKM

New Bug Tracker

This will help to organise Estranged bugs and allow the community to also raise them directly (with screenshots, videos and other media attached). Anyone can register (just poke me to approve your account). See here for currently open and closed bugs. Thank you for playing Estranged - if you have feedback, I'm available on discord.gg/estranged :) I wish you a very happy new year! Alan

[ 2018-12-21 22:33:51 CET ] [ Original post ]

Early December Update: Underground Content

A new build is live on Steam, for Windows and Linux!

Underground Content

This build includes new explorable content following on from the previous Street & Apartments update, following the continual adventures of the fisherman!

Opening Titles

A small but important detail, the opening titles now show the location of the fisherman in the prelude level, revealing the location of the wooden house and dock. Titles also exist after the fisherman falls, describing the location in relation to Act I, and the location in the world(!).

New Community Wiki

Community member Martin has been maintaining a wiki on Wikia ( http://estranged.wikia.com/ ), which I am now working with him to transfer to the official Estranged Community Wiki: https://wiki.iamestranged.com/ This wiki is full of community compiled references to the lore and world of Estranged. If you're interested in the story of Act I and Act II, it's definitely worth browsing! Some of my favourite pages:

https://wiki.iamestranged.com/Arque_Corporation
https://wiki.iamestranged.com/Liam_Jones
https://wiki.iamestranged.com/Sokol-Glockner_Private_Security

If you're interested in becoming an editor, reach out to Martin on the Estranged Discord server! - I would also like to thank the Estranged volunteer translators and testers for their help with quickly translating and testing this update. Stay tuned for more updates - if you'd like to provide feedback, head over to https://discord.gg/estranged where you can chat with me, and meet the rest of the community! Thanks for playing Estranged! Alan

[ 2018-12-02 23:32:01 CET ] [ Original post ]

Mid November Update: Street, Apartments Rifle

A new build is live on Steam, for Windows and Linux!

Street and Apartments

This build includes new content - the street is now explorable content, leading to an apartment block. I'll be continuing this content in future updates.

New Guard Type

There's a new Sokol guard in town with more armor, and a different weapon!

Playable Rifle

The rifle is now a playable weapon in Estranged: Act II! This can be found in the street level, and is also used by the new guard type.

Save System Overhaul

I have re-written the save system to make it more robust. There should be no notable change to the game itself, but under the hood each item in the game now has a unique ID to identify it. The previous system used the names of the items, but because items can move between levels, name collisions could occur. To combat this, I introduced a tag to the item to describe the level that the item came from - but this system was far from perfect and often resulted in incorrect items being restored. This should no longer happen! - As ever, please let me know what you think! I'm around at alan [at] alanedwardes (dot) com, or on discord.gg/estranged. Thank you for playing Estranged! Alan

[ 2018-11-17 23:15:05 CET ] [ Original post ]

Late October Update

A new build is live on Steam for Windows, with a Linux build following soon!

Pickaxe

The pickaxe is now a usable weapon in the game! This update adds the pickaxe, and destructible boards in some areas.

I would like to add more breakable elements to the rest of the game, as they're very fun to play with!

Water Fog

The water in the game has been slightly tweaked so that the fog does not follow the camera. This is a small detail that improves the appearance of water from some angles.

There's a development blog video explaining how the effect is achieved for those that are interested in a behind the scenes view. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X46DHOhwvCA There are a few fixes included in this release too - please note the cheat to spawn the pistol is now "spawn pistol" (rather than just "pistol"). If you have any feedback, let me know in the comments, or directly on Discord - https://discord.gg/estranged Thank you for playing Estranged! Alan

[ 2018-10-24 20:33:54 CET ] [ Original post ]

Mid October Update: Melee Weapon Preview

A build is now live on Steam for Windows!

Pickaxe Preview

There's a preview of a new weapon - the pickaxe! This can be spawned using the below cheat: spawn pickaxe This will be available to play with in the story campaign at a future date.

Weapon Modifications

The weapons have been tweaked - with some small changes to the pistol, rifle and shotgun. The pistol is available to play, and the rifle and shotgun can be spawned using the cheats "spawn rifle" and "spawn shotgun".

Development Blog Video

If you're interested in Unreal Engine 4 development, I posted a new development blog documenting how to tweak skeletal meshes in blender, and import them back into Unreal! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTJ0tm6GscQ If you have any feedback, Discord is by far the best way to send it! I'm available at alan [at] alanedwardes (dot) com too. Thanks for playing, and see you around for the next update! Alan

[ 2018-10-14 21:40:26 CET ] [ Original post ]

Early October Update

A build is now live on Steam for Windows, with Linux coming later this week!

Master Water Collector

The bucket achievement returns to Act II after being wildly popular in Act I! Take John's bucket to the end of the game to unlock it. Please note that if you cheat, you can't unlock it!

Spawn Object Cheat

It's now possible to spawn various items as cheats using the code "spawn x", where x can be: guard, rabbit, infected, rifle, shotgun, pistol, bucket, brick, coffee, cone, paper, teapot, bottle, box, fence, crate, mug, fan, computer, toolbox and barrel.

Ambient Sound Changes

The ambient sound system has been overhauled in preparation for future content. There should be no significant impact on the game - but please let me know if you hear anything out of the ordinary. A major improvement is that water now muffles level sound, regardless of the type of water. Previously this was error prone as it had to be manually added to each water volume. Another improvement is that different soundscapes can no longer bleed into each other, so you can't hear birds outside when close to an outer wall of a building.

Various Fixes

New: Iron sights for rifle model (only accessible via cheats)
New: Backspace can now be used to navigate backwards on menus
New: Spawn cheat extended to support above items
New: Removes focus border from menu buttons, replaces with a pulse
Fixed: Estranged News not loading on the main menu
Fixed: Ordering of control options
Fixed: Range awarding too many points
Fixed: UI sounds are now no longer affected by reverb and muffling

As with the previous few posts, there is a known issue with certain hardware and long loading times on chapter 3: https://steamcommunity.com/app/582890/discussions/0/3338746335339497349/ Thanks for playing Estranged! I'm around on Discord if you have any feedback: https://discord.gg/estranged Alan

[ 2018-10-08 21:42:09 CET ] [ Original post ]

Late September Update: Ansel, Aiming and Preview Weapons

A build is now live on Steam for Windows. A Linux update is currently on the staging beta and will be pushed live later today.

Aiming Changes

While aiming with weapons down the sights, the amount of weapon movement has been vastly decreased. This makes it feel a lot easier to shoot enemies, and makes the aiming a lot more useful in combat.

Varied Infected

The infected characters can now have varied limbs along with the existing variations of clothing and hair. I would like to be able to support a larger set of infected humans from all walks of life eventually.

New Cheats & Weapon Previews

There are more cheats to play with in-game, which can now be accessed using the (re-bindable) backtick key:

spawn rabbit
spawn infected
spawn guard
spawn rifle
spawn shotgun
spawn pistol

The weapons are not finished and not available in the main game, but are fun to play with!

Nvidia Ansel Support

Ansel is now fully supported in Estranged for taking high quality screenshots! Hit Alt + F2 in-game to enable to Ansel UI.

Full Change List

New: AI can now open doors
New: Nvidia Ansel support
New: Infected variations
New: Added rifle and shotgun implementations
New: It is now possible to spawn characters using the cheat "spawn guard/rabbit/infected"
New: Bindable cheats key (default is ` backtick) which focuses the cheats input box
New: The specimen count puzzle now counts live specimens only
New: Impact effects are now delayed depending on how far the bullet travels
New: Ragdolls now keep their exact bone positions during save/restore
Fixed: Blue highlighting around edge of level in storage/parking area
Fixed: Movement buttons being held down when loading screens disappear
Fixed: Some doors not being locked in the Arque quadrant offices
Fixed: Cameras being able to see through walls
Fixed: The turret can no longer see through walls
Fixed: Picking up pillow causing physics issues in sleep/wake scene
Fixed: Re-sampled some audio to fix sound issues on Linux for certain configurations
Fixed: Getting stuck in the parking garage
Fixed: Turret batteries not being saved/restored correctly
Fixed: Water fog not clearing after a save/restore
Fixed: Infected variations are now saved/restored
Fixed: Sprinting is no longer permitted whilst scoping
Fixed: Idle movement of weapons now reduced while scoping

And localisation updates thanks to the Estranged translation community! There is a known issue with a hang on load for certain machines. There are also a couple of minor bugs around save/restoring, where your ammo count might not persist properly, and AI may duplicate when restoring. I would especially like to thank the Discord community for suggesting a bunch of features for this build, and for helping to find and report bugs before it was released. Any feedback you have, I'm available at alan [at] alanedwardes (dot) com and on Discord! https://discord.gg/estranged Thank you for playing Estranged! Alan

[ 2018-09-22 12:24:03 CET ] [ Original post ]

Early September Update: Story, Content Bullet Penetration

A build is now live on Steam for Windows featuring new content, story, a bullet penetration feature and more! A Linux build will follow soon.

Story Content

The existing sections of the game have been revamped with additional radio dialogue in chapters 1 and 2. This is something I have been wanting to add for a while, and will improve in future updates. The shipping container radio scene has been removed, which provides a smother overall gameplay experience.

Chapter 3 Work

There is now more content to play in chapter 3! In addition, below is a sneak peek of the work in progress content coming soon.

Bullet Penetration

Bullets can now penetrate water, foliage, mesh and flesh, meaning that if you shoot through a fence, the bullet will continue travelling through up to 4 surfaces before stopping. You may notice glass is missing from the list of surfaces - I would like to add this, but some elements of the game rely on treating glass as bulletproof. I need to improve those areas before enabling this. Warehouse Horde Track Elliot put together a new track for the warehouse horde mode! This perfectly augments the style of this game mode, and makes it feel more energetic overall. Changelog

New: Bullets can now penetrate up to 4 surfaces before stopping
New: Max FOV is now 120 degrees
New: View Distance setting on Graphics menu
New: Added batteries to the mini gun turrets to allow players to disable them
New: Radio messages throughout chapters 1 and 2
New: Continual content work on chapter 3
New: Auto-save points for chapter 3
New: Impact particles when items are thrown into water
New: Held objects now push other physics objects out of the way
Fixed: Many LOD pop-in issues, tweaks many transitions and adds dithering to large objects
Fixed: Infected characters now use the same "can human throw this" check as the player
Fixed: Players can no longer pick up the lamp in the boat
Fixed: If rushing to end of prelude level, fade-out doesn't work
Fixed: Performance issues in the base due to two reflection captures being visible at once
Fixed: Held object shaking when colliding with other objects
Fixed: Navigation issues in chapter 3
Fixed: Crash in save/restore system
Fixed: Area in Prelude level allowing player to get stuck
Fixed: Shadow pop-in for emergency lights in chapter 3

... and localisation updates with many thanks to the volunteer translators! I'd like to thank the folks that helped out with testing this build on Discord, which drove a bunch of the fixes you see above. There is a known issue with a hang on load for certain machines - if loading chapter 3 hangs for over two minutes on your machine, please reach out to me using the details below as I am struggling to reproduce the conditions that cause this problem. If you have any feedback or you just want to hang out with other players, join the Estranged Discord! discord.gg/estranged Thanks for playing Estranged :) Alan

[ 2018-09-08 14:03:29 CET ] [ Original post ]

Early August Update: Courtyard

A build is now live on Steam for Windows featuring brand new content!

The Courtyard

Continue to explore the Arque facility in the new courtyard content! Make sure you have your wits about you, and weapon equipped. The cheat "map TheBase#sp02" can be used to start this content directly. More AI Work

The guards now behave differently when trying to pursue an enemy, chasing the enemy down and moving towards their target. There are more improvements to do in this area, so as the combat surface of the game expands, so will the intelligence of the enemies. New Prelude Track Elliot added a new music track to the Prelude level! This track now plays as soon as you start a new game. Be sure to check it out! Changelog

New: The M9 can now have 45 bullets in reserve, instead of 30
New: The vents in the office levels are now color-coded to help navigation
New: A small physics impusle is added to ragdolls on AI death
New: The pistol firing sound now has a close-by and a muffled far-away sound
New: Item spawners in post-capture content
New: Additional detailing for warehouse arcade
New: Adds musical hit to round starting in warehouse arcade
New: Armor movement sounds for guard AI
New: TheBase#sp cheat to jump to new content areas (n is currently 1, 2 and 3)
Fixed: Dynamic resupply can only spawn if ammunition can be accepted
Fixed: Concurrency limit preventing footstep sounds from playing
Fixed: Collision bug above elevator in cave level
Fixed: Windows in small mine office allowing props to pass through
Fixed: Getting stuck in mine level when traversing office blockage
Fixed: Ragdoll collision on death. AI now dies more convincingly

Most of the above changes were blueprint/asset changes. For those interested in code, the C++ changes are publicly available on GitHub - here’s a link to the diff Pace of Updates You may have noticed the pace of updates slowing down a little - that's because I haven't had as much spare time over this summer. Preparing a build for release is also increasingly time consuming, as I have to test the game from start to end (and certain features like save/restore) - but you can help! If you'd like to test builds early, see the Discord link below! As ever, I'm available directly on Discord for bug reports, testing in-development builds, or if you just want to hang out! http://discord.gg/estranged I hope you enjoy this update! Alan

[ 2018-08-09 20:05:13 CET ] [ Original post ]

Late July Patch

This update includes bug fixes and stability improvements for Estranged: Act II. Please note that a Linux build is making its way to the development beta right now (with a fix for foliage rendering), but I need help testing it - reach out to me on Discord if you have a Linux machine and would like to test!

July Progress

I have been taking a break from working on Estranged content this month - that will resume in August! Instead I have been tackling bugs, stability and immersion. Below is the full list of changes - thank you to everyone that helped test and translate this release:

Fixed: The window mode and resolution options on the Screen menu
Fixed: Forklift collision mesh
Fixed: Bullet decals for ivy and tree leaves, and the fan mesh
Fixed: The horde game mode now respects the “disable HUD” option
Fixed: Health and ammunition no longer spawns when in the player’s view
Fixed: Halo-like glowing around some bullet decals and barrel file effect
Fixed: Rabbits can no longer enter water
Fixed: Infected characters can no longer walk under water
Fixed: Blood impact effects are now darker in colour
Fixed: The music state in the sewer chase is now saved/restored properly
Fixed: Door colliding with drawers in the basement level
Fixed: Adds UI clipping for specimen input
Fixed: Enables more accurate collision for all objects in-game
Fixed: Bullet impact debris is no longer attached to the object
Fixed: Only one resupply item can spawn at a time in the same place
Fixed: Object position resetting when saving a previously loaded game
Fixed: Ammo count is now saved/restored correctly
Fixed: High CPU usage when infected could not move to its target
Fixed: Infected torso/legs impact effect is now blood, rather than cloth
Fixed: Collision of floor/rail section in capture level
Fixed: Standing on smaller objects caused physics instability
New: Accuracy of weapon now increases to 100% while aiming
New: Plastic, tile, cardboard, brick and rock impact sounds
New: The bullet tracer particle effect now traces the real path of the bullet
New: The guard AI shoot speed is now slower than the player’s
New: Impact particles for plastic objects
New: Impact sounds are now scaled based on the velocity of the impact
New: Updates Russian and Dutch localisations
New: Cheats box has a button to jump to Steam guides
New: Feedback window now posts to Discord
New: Now using Unreal Engine 4.20
Debugging: Added "-noloadingscreen" command line switch
Debugging: Added “unachieve” cheat
Debugging: Added “deplete” cheat
Debugging: Added “previous” branch on Steam

Most of the above changes were blueprint/asset changes. For those interested in code, the C++ changes are publicly available on GitHub - here’s a link to the diff Thank you for your continued support. Reporting bugs via Discord has proven to be really useful, so if you’d like to see progress, post ideas and report problems, you’re more than welcome to join! https://discord.gg/estranged Enjoy the rest of your Sunday! Alan

[ 2018-07-22 08:19:43 CET ] [ Original post ]

Late June Update: Horde

This update includes more content for the final level, various improvements and a new “horde” arcade mode.

Arque PR Offices

Find out what Arque are plotting to improve their public image with the addition of the Arque PR offices! This content comes directly after the capture sequence, and will be expanded in a future update.

Horde Arcade Mode

There’s a new “Arcade” option on the main menu, which includes a new horde game mode. This was born out of a map I created for testing combat, but I decided to open it up as a fun map to fight against hordes of infected. This will be improved in the future - some folks who are watching the Steam development beta branch have already given some excellent feedback about how to make this more fun.

Open Sourcing Estranged.Core

Similar to Estranged: Act I, I have now open-sourced around 95% of the Estranged: Act II C++ source code on GitHub! Whether you’d like to poke around to see how Estranged works, or you’d like to copy some code for your Unreal project, head on over to GitHub to check out the module: https://github.com/alanedwardes/Estranged.Core Some interesting areas:

The Estranged player character: EstPlayer.cpp
The Estranged player HUD: EstPlayerHUD.cpp

Translation Updates Thank you to all of the translators that have contributed to this build - the German, Russian and Slovak localisations have been updated. Thank you for playing Estranged! If you see any issues, the easiest way to report them is to head on over to the #bugs channel on Discord - https://discord.gg/estranged - there’s also an #ideas channel. Thanks for playing! Alan

[ 2018-06-23 13:10:23 CET ] [ Original post ]

Early June Update: Lockdown

This update includes more content, and allows you to explore more of the current final level.

Lockdown

Head over to the current last level on the new game menu to play the new lockdown content. This will be added as a chapter option to the main menu in the next update to make it easier to access this and the next set of content. Lighting Improvements There have also been some very subtle changes to lighting in the game, meaning that there should be less visible seams in modular wall and floor assets. If you see any obvious seams in modular assets, it would be great to bring to my attention in the form of a screenshot. I can focus on ironing more out in a future update. If you have any feedback on this build, email me at alan [at] alanedwardes (dot) com, start a thread on the forum, leave a review on Steam or head over to discord.gg/estranged to find out about updates first, and give feedback in person. Thanks for playing Estranged: Act II! Alan

[ 2018-06-04 22:09:16 CET ] [ Original post ]

End of May Update: Work on Final Level

This update includes a little more of the current final level, and hints at where it will continue.
I wanted to release the content this week, as I won’t be able to work on Estranged over the next week. The next update will likely land on the 3rd of June. As ever, let me know if you have any feedback - hop on discord.gg/estranged, email me directly at alan [at] alanedwardes (dot) com or drop a note on the forums. Thanks for playing! Alan

[ 2018-05-20 18:52:58 CET ] [ Original post ]

Mid May Update: Bullet Tracers, More Content

This update (now live!) includes changes to the gunplay, and more work on the current final level.

Bullet Tracers and Aiming Improvements

I have added a first pass implementation of a bullet tracer - this adds a particle effect that follows the bullet direction. This effect isn’t actually simulated in the world so it will go through objects for now, but I will fix that in a future update. Aiming has been improved too, meaning that when aiming with the pistol it will sit in the middle of the screen without moving around.

Development Blog Videos

There are 3 new development blog videos covering weapons and the rocks found in the current final level! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kNUQu-v_B8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYKu_W0CT-U https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIefQbdE_gA As ever, let me know what you think! Drop by the Estranged Discord server if you’d like to keep up to date with development, or just say hi: https://discord.gg/estranged Alan

[ 2018-05-13 15:11:07 CET ] [ Original post ]

End of April Update: Iron Sights

This update includes iron sights and more work on the current final level.

Iron Sights

Estranged: Act II now includes a first-pass implementation of iron sights! This moves the weapon model to the centre of the screen, removes the crosshair and allows you to aim with the iron sights of the weapon. Rolled in with this update are some changes to how the flashlight works when you are close to an object - it will now pull back to allow you to see it better.

More Work on Current Ending

I have been fleshing out the final level, which means there’s a little bit more to play.

There's also a new cheat - "noclip". This is the same as "fly", except disables collision so you can go through walls. Let me know what you think - feedback is always appreciated! Drop by the Discord server! https://discord.gg/estranged Alan

[ 2018-04-30 19:53:38 CET ] [ Original post ]

Late April Update: Work on Next Level Discord

This update includes a new ending point, and the release of a public Discord server for Estranged!

Next Level

This update includes a very small piece of content, something I’m going to expand on in the coming updates.

I also want to cut pieces of content that aren’t working (something that should be continuous but not something I’ve been doing enough). There are some candidates for that but any suggestions are appreciated!

Public Discord

Estranged now has a public discord server! If you’d like to hang out with me and others involved in the project (and of course the estbot!) head on over to the server.

Linux Foliage Bug I found that the foliage culling bug the Estranged Linux build is seeing is actually an Unreal Engine 4 bug, a regression from the previous version. It’s too late for me to downgrade the project now, so I’m either going to fix it myself or wait until the next version of the engine. Apologies to the Linux players that this bug impacts - going forwards I will try to more vigorously test engine updates and only move when necessary. - As ever, feedback is appreciated. Join the chat on Discord, the Steam forums or the in-game feedback to help shape Estranged! Alan

[ 2018-04-23 22:27:00 CET ] [ Original post ]

Mid-April News: Concept Work on Next Level

Hi all, There's no game update this week, but I thought I'd share a few development screenshots for level sections I'm working on for the next update. I have been very busy with my day job over the past couple of weeks and haven't had as much energy in the evenings and weekends as I'd like to for Estranged. That said, below is the concept work I did manage to find time for.

Concept Work

It started with a few art tests, where I extracted a height map from a rock texture and used it to create a modular rock mesh portion. I wanted to re-create the kind of art style found some levels of Quantum Break which features an underground facility cut into rock, with a mixture concrete and chrome.

This is the result of the first art test. You can see the repetition so it needs to be broken up by something, but the wall looks very real, and the light also highlights pointed sections in the ways you'd expect. Next, I took to fleshing this out. The result of that further work is below - the repetition I spoke about above is very visible, so I'll be looking to break it up as the next step.

This work is in its very early stages, but I hope to complete it and push it in an update either next weekend or the weekend after. I've also been looking into the foliage occlusion regression on Linux since the engine update, however I haven't had much luck pinning that one down. I'll push out a fix for Linux as soon as I have something there. Thanks for reading, I look forward to you playing the next update! Alan

[ 2018-04-15 13:08:23 CET ] [ Original post ]

Early April Update: Combat Changes, Level Updates

An update is now live including changes to the gunplay in Estranged, and some tweaks to the current final level of the game.

Level Updates

I have been working on pacing of the current final level, as I received some feedback that the introduction of the turret and Sokol guards isn’t very smooth.

Combat Improvements

This has been a difficult thing to pin down - there are a few changes to the combat in this update, including a new crosshair for weapons, new pistol firing and handling sounds, a more prominent muzzle flash and changes to weapon accuracy.

Smaller Download

This will impact newer players more than those who follow the updates, but this update shaves around 1.5GB from the on-disk size of Estranged.

Linux Known Issue

There is a known issue on Linux in this update with foliage rendering in the forest level. This is why Linux did not receive last weeks' update, though I decided I'd like to get the combat changes into the hands of Linux players too - I will work on finding the cause of the bug over the next week.

Swedish Translations

Act II now has Swedish translations thanks to community volunteer Felix! Your feedback very important at this stage of development. If you have any thoughts, issues, bugs etc please email me at alan [at] alanedwardes (dot) com, leave a post on the forums, or drop a Steam review. Thanks for playing Estranged! Alan

[ 2018-04-02 13:43:11 CET ] [ Original post ]

Late March Update: Ocean Intro, Warehouse Outro

This update includes two short pieces of new content, showcasing a little more of the story in Estranged: Act II. It's now live for Windows, with Linux on the way very shortly.

Ocean Intro

Right after the prelude and before the main game, there is now a sequence connecting up the Act I intro sequence to Act II. Learn a little about the work behind the scenes to hook up the sequence in this development blog video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5nlaWiAJuA

Warehouse Outro

There’s now a new ending sequence in Act II. This was originally planned together with another sequence right after this, but I decided to deliver this section first to allow more time to complete the second sequence in a future update.

Updated Engine

The engine has received a minor update. One of the main features means that using low screen percentage values (on the Screen options menu) will allow faster rendering, without much loss of visual fidelity (please note this requires temporal anti-aliasing to be enabled, it does not work with MSAA). As ever, any feedback is welcome. Thanks for your continued support with the Estranged project! Alan

[ 2018-03-25 15:46:50 CET ] [ Original post ]

Mid-March Hot Fix Patch

Hi all, A hot fix is now live for Windows 32 bit, Windows 64 bit and Linux including the following changes:

Fixes difficult-to-climb rock in the second level after the elevator
Fixes crash when restoring saved games relating to collision
Fixes save/restore in the clearing level, with the radio sequence
Updates all localisations - previously no updates since Feb due to a build issue

I tried to preserve compatibility with save files between this build and Saturday's release, however because there were level changes involved I ultimately had to invalidate old saves. Sorry about that! Like I said in the last post, there may not be another update for a week or two as I'm working on a content update, so this update aims to make sure the game is stable during that period. Any issues, please let me know below or on the forums. Cheers, Alan

[ 2018-03-13 23:08:58 CET ] [ Original post ]

Mid-March Update: Stability Updates, Movement Tweaks

This update includes changes to make the game more stable, and tweaks to the character movement.

Work on Save System

The save system is now more stable, and if you are interested in how it works under the hood there are two development blog videos explaining how it works! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjJVn3WVpsY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HC2yDXzb4e4

Character Movement Tweaks

I have been working with Estranged: Act I and Estranged: Act II side-by-side to make the movement more closely match that of Act I. The character should feel less floaty, and I am working on making jumping feel more akin to Act I. Here’s a development blog video around that too, for those interested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dh9T39qSYqc There may not be an update for a couple of weeks, but I’m aiming to make the next update a content update. Any feedback on this build, let me know on the forums, or at alan [at] alanedwardes (dot) com. Thanks for playing! Alan (Here's the to-do whiteboard from this build - bonus points if you can read it!)

[ 2018-03-10 21:47:22 CET ] [ Original post ]

Early March Update: Event Better Saving, Lab Entrance Sequence

This update includes even better saving (introduces custom saves, quickload and quicksave), and a new sequence in the lab area opening.

Lab Entrance Sequence

There’s a new sequence in the lab entrance area - this is something I’ve been wanting to add for a while, showing you the security present this side of Arque’s facility.

Even Better Saving

You can now save anywhere you want in Estranged. This required a lot of engineering work behind the scenes - something I have been putting off for quite a while because it’s a lot more complicated than the checkpoint save system. There are still some bugs to iron out in certain levels, but quick save, quick load can now be used anywhere in Estranged. I would like to prioritise fixing any save/load bugs for the next update, so please let me know about areas that you have problems with.

Everything Else

In total there are 51 changes in this release! Here’s my todo list for this update (I missed my deadline!):

Work on Ending

While I’m nowhere near ready to connect it up yet, I have started planning out the final level of Estranged. This will be my focus over the next few weeks, so that I can get this part finished (but not released) ready to connect up to the content I’m planning to add on to the end of the current levels. Any feedback (particularly in the save/restore area - please let me know at alan [at] alanedwardes (dot) com. I created a dedicated thread on the forums for this too: https://steamcommunity.com/app/582890/discussions/0/1694914736009507644/ Thanks for playing Estranged: Act II! Alan

[ 2018-03-04 21:05:53 CET ] [ Original post ]

Mid February Update: Better Saving, More Content

This update includes better saving (checkpoints are now more frequent and save things like your health, flashlight battery and ammunition), and more work on content.

Checkpoints

Estranged hasn’t really had real “saves”, it has had a checkpoint system. The checkpoint system remembered the level number you were on in a session, and if you died would let you start again there. The new checkpoints system means that saves are made more frequently, and are persisted between launches of the game. They also save things like your current weapon and ammo, health, battery and stamina. Please note that existing saves won’t work when Estranged is updated. You can make manual saves using the cheat “save”, though this will stay a cheat until the system works better because only the player is saved, not anything in the world.

Controller Improvements

Sprint and crouch now toggle when you’re using a controller with Estranged. As ever, if you have any other feedback please feel free to leave it here, the forums or email me at alan [at] alanedwardes (dot) com. Thanks for playing Estranged! Alan

[ 2018-02-18 12:43:35 CET ] [ Original post ]

Early February Update: In-World Computers, Door Technology

This update includes in-world computer screens, meaning that using a computer doesn’t take over the screen and instead is done from in game, in the world. The update is live for Windows, with Linux to follow in the next few days.

In-World Computers

The computers have moved in-world! This makes it a little easier to support controllers, but also makes it a more immersive experience. The newspapers are now available as email attachments on the computers.

Advances in Door Technology

See video: https://twitter.com/AlanEdwardes/status/957400020902469632 To date, Estranged: Act II only had one door, which was used everywhere. While this is fine for a small game, it was getting a little bit ridiculous to have the same door throughout the game in vastly different environments. This update introduces a few different door variants and more for future use, and door handles now jiggle as they did in Act I.

Buoyancy

See video: https://twitter.com/AlanEdwardes/status/959181916980305921 Something Unreal doesn’t have out of the box that Source did have was buoyancy. I spent a bit of time this week adding a component to add this to anything which needs to float - you’ll notice this in the sewer level, as the barrels now rise and fall with the water.

Streaming Tweaks

I did focus on streaming a few updates ago, however for some players will slower hard drives it was still possible to see levels “pop in” as you got to them. In this update, I have traded memory for fewer loading points - so more is loaded at one time, and not just the next level, but the level after is loaded before you get there. This should further minimise frame rate drops due to streaming, and make it so no-one will ever see a level pop in. The side effect of this was that I had to tweak how sound works in Estranged, so all areas have seen an overhaul to their ambient sound. Please let me know if there are areas which need work on that front.

Estranged in HTML5

https://iamestranged.com/distribute/html5/index.html As an experiment, I created an HTML5 version of Estranged, including the prelude level, and the shooting range level. As ever, let me know in the in-game feedback, forums, Steam reviews or directly at alan [at] alanedwardes (dot) com if you have any thoughts on this update, or the game in general! Thank you for playing Estranged, Alan

[ 2018-02-04 17:09:09 CET ] [ Original post ]

Late January Update: Prelude and Cheats

This update includes a brand new prelude level set before Act I, and a new cheats system. The builds for Windows are now live, Linux is in progress and will go live in a few hours.

Prelude

I have been thinking about including more of the wider story of the Estranged world in Act II for some time, and exploring the fisherman’s character in more detail. The prelude level is my first foray into this, and is something I was planning over the Christmas break. I really enjoyed putting this level together over the past week, so hope I can expand on it and work on similar content for future updates.

Cheats

There are now cheats in Estranged! If you head on over to the extras menu, here are a few:

God
Pistol
Ammo
Gofast
Jumphigh

As ever, please let me know your thoughts - if you don’t play the entire update, the prelude is definitely worth checking out. The cheats are also really fun to play with! Thank you for playing Estranged, Alan

[ 2018-01-19 22:10:33 CET ] [ Original post ]

Mid January Update: Detailing and Stability

This update improves the stability of the game, and adds detailing to some areas. It is now live!

Underwater Fog

I have been working on the underwater effects, adding some fog to make being underwater look a little more, well, like you’re underwater! Here’s a video to show the exaggerated effect.

Detailing

I have added detailing to certain areas of the game, with added debris on the floor. This can be scaled using the foliage graphics setting on the graphics settings menu.

Other Changes

This release fixes a few issues from the last update, some caught by the new dump reporter:

Fixes crash on exit
Fixes crash when applying gameplay settings
Fixes strange bullet impact particle effects floating in the air for all enemies (restores blood)
Fixes some foliage popping issues, though more to do in this area
Removed menu transitions

That last point came out of my testing, I realised I wasn’t using the exit button to exit the game whilst playtesting because it was faster to kill the process, which lead to the “crash on exit” bug above going missed for several months. Removing the transitions makes the menus faster to use, and people less like to try to circumvent them.

Concept Screenshot

Some concept level design work for Act II from this week.

If you missed it, I also made a video showing how the Rabbit AI works in Act II. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRVKR0h4Q4k As ever, please leave your thoughts below, in-game feedback or email me at alan [at] alanedwardes (dot) com. Thanks for playing! Alan

[ 2018-01-13 12:42:58 CET ] [ Original post ]

Early January Update: New Infected, Level Changes and Performance Improvements

The first update of 2018 is now live for Linux and Windows bringing a new infected model, level changes and performance improvements.

New Infected

The infected character in Estranged has been something I’ve been wanting to change for a long time. The model in use was too different from Act I, and didn’t properly suit the story. In today’s update, there is a completely new infected model. I have also revamped the introductory sequence in the sewer level - I would recommend playing from that level if you’d like to experience the revamped character. There are still things that need improving, but visually this infected is much closer to my vision for Act II.

Forest Overhaul, Sewer Changes

As I highlighted above, the sewer level has been revamped for the infected character changes, and the forest level has had a large visual overhaul (above). There are also changes to the outside of the lab (keycard area).

Performance Improvements

This update uses a different type of renderer inside unreal called the forward renderer, which Epic created to deliver a higher framerate and sharper visuals for VR titles. Since Estranged doesn’t leverage anything that specifically requires the deferred renderer, I have switched to the forward renderer on all platforms. On my development machine and lower-end laptop I see improvements of up to 33% in terms of frame rate, however this depends entirely on the hardware and the settings such as resolution. I’m confident that everyone will see some kind of frame rate improvement with this update.

Advanced Graphics Settings

There is now a screen which you can access to change the anti-aliasing technique, disable motion blur, screen fringe, depth of field and vignette. These are for more advanced users that aren’t fond of these effects. The menu can be accessed via Options > Graphics > Advanced.

Integrated Crash Dump Uploader

If Estranged crashes, the next time you start it on Windows it will ask if you’d like to upload the crash dump for analysis. It has previously been a difficult manual process to get hold of these for debugging, and they’re crucial for fixing fatal bugs in Estranged. As ever, please let us know what you think. The in-game feedback feature gives you the ability to attach a screenshot to your message, but the forums are a good place too. You can also reach out directly to alan [at] alanedwardes (dot) com. Thanks for playing! Alan

[ 2018-01-06 20:31:55 CET ] [ Original post ]

2017

As 2017 draws to a close, I thought I'd round up some of the things that happened over the past year, and look ahead to what 2018 will bring. Here are some interesting statistics from the past year:

Over 19,000 downloads on Steam
262 Steam reviews (74% positive)
Over 30 content updates (many more undocumented)
Over 300 builds (some are duds and don’t go live)
2,829 commits in source control
Over 40 GB of content (raw levels, code, textures, models, sounds)
18 development blog videos on YouTube

Concept level based on photograph of sewer - view tweet

Twitter

I am going to be posting more smaller morsels of news and screenshots on Twitter, so if you’d like to get smaller development updates follow me @AlanEdwardes and @EstrangedGame. These will propagate into the update news posts on Steam, but if you want to get more detail from behind the scenes and development updates as they happen then Twitter is the place.

Looking Forwards

The next year is going to be a big year for Estranged: Act II, with the first content update of 2018 arriving very soon. There will be more action, story and awesome environments to experience in the next few months – the fisherman’s voyage is not yet complete!

Upcoming changes to forest level

Thank You!

I touch on it every news post, but I want to thank every person reading this for being involved in the project – whether you’re waiting for the series to be complete, or you’re playing the content updates as they are released – thank you all. Here's to 2018! Alan

[ 2017-12-30 23:39:49 CET ] [ Original post ]

Mid December Update: New Level, Guard Detail

Hi all, It has been longer than usual since the last Estranged update which landed around 20 days ago. This update includes over 50 additions, with the main ticket items being continuation of the next level, and a new enemy. (Linux and Windows 32 bit versions will follow within the next few hours).

New Level

As soon as I finished the last update I started work on the next level, mainly with the view to create an interesting place for an encounter. The ending credits have been moved to the current end of the game, and containing the level from this point will be my focus for the coming weeks and months.

Guard Detail

In my last post I explained how I was working on human AI for gunplay in Estranged – you can see the result of this in the final level in the game. I intend to cover how I went about this in a separate development blog video, but this is the first pass of an intelligent human enemy in Estranged, and the introduction of a new company.

There are improvements to make for sure, and your feedback is going to be critical to figure out what to focus on in this area.

Graphical, Sound, Music Additions

There are more improvements in this update to list, so look out for the new graphical changes, musical additions and sounds. I would recommend playing from the 6th level onwards to preview some new musical additions. Please let me know what you think! As of late, the best way is to submit in-game feedback, as you can attach a screenshot automatically. - As 2017 ends, I am extremely happy with the progress made this year, and hope to deliver more content in the new year. What drives me as a developer is seeing folks playing Estranged – if you have friends and family that might enjoy a free first-person shooter over the holiday season let them know about Estranged! Thank you for playing! Alan

[ 2017-12-14 23:43:36 CET ] [ Original post ]

End of November Update: Background AI Work

An update is now live! Here's a video showing the content in this update, and some behind the scenes AI work. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ri9ix9RaA7w

New Infected Behaviour

The infected AI can now punch physics objects towards the player, meaning it’s more difficult to block their path with barrels and other objects.

Work on Human AI

I have been working on human AI in the background. While this isn’t in the game yet, you can see what I have so far in the video. They are quite dumb for the first pass, but will get more intelligent with coming updates.

Footsteps and Bullet Impact Effects

To make the player feel more grounded in the world, I have improved the footsteps for the player on certain materials, and made it so most surfaces have bullet impact particle effects. I am away next week so there won't be an update until the following week, but if you have any feedback, please let us know on the forums, or using the in-game feedback! Alan

[ 2017-11-25 15:46:24 CET ] [ Original post ]

Puzzle Changes, Headshots, Weapon Recoil, Swedish Translations

Sewer Changes

The sewer puzzle has been overhauled to make it more interesting than the previous valve collection mechanic.

Puzzle Changes

The two collection puzzles in Estranged have been changed to provide several possible placements of the thing you need to collect, after a suggestion from a member of the community. This means that every playthrough of Estranged will be a little bit different from a puzzle standpoint. I’d like to expand on this idea going forwards, making a few other elements dynamic too.

The mine level has had a visual refresh, along with some tweaks to improve playability.

Headshots

The infected AI can now be killed with a single headshot, and similarly hits to the arms and legs are worth less damage, and shots to the torso are worth more. The infected model now has a much more appropriate physics representation, so that when it is killed, it dies in a more realistic manner (the death animation has been removed).

Weapon Recoil

There is now a simple weapon recoil for the pistol. I’d like to improve this in the coming weeks, for now it just nudges the camera up and down when the weapon is fired.

AI Changes

I have overhauled the current AI to help me prepare for adding other AI later in development. This does not greatly impact the infected AI, has allowed me to introduce a new AI friend into the last forest level. The forest level has been changed at the end to allow AI to more easily traverse it, meaning the last sequence is a little more hair raising!

Swedish Translations

The game is now translated to Swedish, thanks to community contributor Felix. If you’d like to help translate Estranged to your language, head over to bitbucket.org/estranged.

Feedback Changes

The feedback system now permits submitting a screenshot along with the feedback text. This captures your current game screen and uploads it to the Estranged API so we can see what you were seeing at the time you wrote the feedback. This was another suggestion from the forums! As ever, thank you for following the Estranged project! If you have any feedback, the best way is now the in-game feedback feature, but if you’d like a chat feel free to reach out to alan [at] alanedwardes (dot) com. Alan

[ 2017-11-18 18:06:12 CET ] [ Original post ]

Volumetric Fog, New Object Highlight, Level Changes

Builds are now live on Steam for Windows 64 bit, Windows 32 bit and Linux, containing over 64 changes since the last update.

Volumetric Fog

The fog system in Estranged has been overhauled to make the transitions when progressing through the game less noticeable. Volumetric fog is now used in certain levels, which makes lights feel more grounded in the level and gives you a sense of the dampness of the atmosphere in the game.

Object Highlight Changes

The object highlight method has been changed, meaning that objects shimmer instead of having an outline. There is now an option in the Gameplay Options menu to disable this highlight altogether for those that want to figure things out without hints.

Changes to 8th Level

The 8th level has now been changed to make it more fun to play – previously you’d have to climb a set of precariously placed boards – this has been replaced with a physics-based elevator mechanic. I hope to keep improving this level going forwards.

Work on 9th Level

I haven’t had as much time as I’d like to work on this level, however there are now blockouts of the path in-game which are visible (but not accessible) from the 9th level. If this doesn’t spoil the immersion for folks picking up the game, I will keep shipping the in-progress level portions until they are ready to be played, just so you all can be involved more in the process.

Background Work

As ever there is ongoing background work to support new enemies, new weapons and better support for checkpoints. There are now two new weapons, but they need more sound work and better integration, so they’ll stay out of the public build for now. I have been working on figuring out how to integrate new characters into Estranged using the same skeleton as the infected character, which will lead to newer types of enemy in the coming months. There are also a bunch of bug fixes in this release reported by the community on the forums. Thank you for playing Estranged! If you have any feedback, please drop a comment or feel free to email me directly at alan [at] alanedwardes (dot) com. Alan

[ 2017-11-05 11:05:32 CET ] [ Original post ]

Level Updates, Engine Upgrade, Interactivity and Performance Changes

An update is now live for Estranged: Act II bringing graphical and interactivity changes to most levels.

Engine Update

Estranged is now running on Unreal Engine 4.18, released 4 days ago at the time of writing. This brings stability and performance updates, and this release contains a change contributed by the Estranged team.

Interactivity Updates

The early level containing a lift now uses a button to start it, which makes the puzzle feel a lot more interactive (previously stepping into the lift made it move). More work is going on in the background to make more interactive features, such as desks, fridges and toilets: https://s.alanedwardes.com/2017-10-16-Cvau1S.mp4

Performance Improvements

The office level was very glass-heavy, which caused a lot of overlapping transparency leading to frame rate drops. This area now performs better, though there is still work to do. If you have any feedback, please let me know here or on the forums, or using the in-game feedback! There are a few issues with the office map as it is too bright, this will be fixed in a future update. Alan

[ 2017-10-27 14:31:22 CET ] [ Original post ]

Estranged on Linux

An update is now live for all platforms, including Linux! This platform is now supported on Early Access for those on Linux that would like to play the game so far. There are a few graphical issues with the build in a couple of the levels, but these will be ironed out in the coming weeks. This build has been tested on Ubuntu. Please note that because it does take a lot longer to build the Linux version of Estranged, updates may be less frequent than Windows.

Lighting Changes

The main focus for this update was Linux, however the earlier levels have been tweaked to make them brighter and easier to navigate. The final forest level has also received a graphical overhaul in preparation for upcoming content.

New Website

https://iamestranged.com/ The Estranged website has received an overhaul, putting more focus on news posts. There is also a new dump uploader page - if Estranged crashes for any reason, you can upload the memory dumps to help us figure out why. As always - any feedback is appreciated! Thanks for playing Estranged. Alan

[ 2017-10-14 10:04:02 CET ] [ Original post ]

New Office and Underground Areas

An update is now live on Steam containing over 90 changes since last week’s build! This includes level design and gameplay tweaks, and core changes to the way levels are loaded and unloaded.
I finished off integrating Lyall’s work on the office, which includes a completely revamped Arque foyer and brand new underground areas. I’d recommend everyone to experience this – if you’re only interested in the new parts, play from map 6 onwards.

Outdoor Lighting Tweaks

The outdoors of the office area is now far brighter, with lots of indirect and direct moonlight pouring in from the night sky.

Streaming Overhaul

To support the office changes, I overhauled the level streaming system for Act II. Previously, levels were streamed in and out based on whether you were inside a large, invisible box. This worked well when levels were quite sparse, however does not work when they’re close together. This change means that walking through certain doorways, and performing certain actions makes levels load in, creating a smoother playing experience.

Physics Tweaks

The physics for held actors should now feel a lot less floaty. In addition, throwing items now adds some angular velocity to them, so they don’t spin vertically when tossed.

Explosive Barrels

Explosive barrels are now a gameplay mechanic in Act II! You’ll spot them in the new office content, and in future Act II levels.

Also see an early barrel development video.

Loading Screen

Act II now features an initial loading screen with a bar reflecting the load progress - though you will only see this once when you start the game up.

Italian Translations

Estranged: Act II is now translated to Italian, with a big thanks to the community contributor Anna C. If you’d like to translate Estranged: Act II to your language, feel free to reach out to alan [at] alanedwardes (dot) com. Thanks for playing, and let us know what you think! Alan

[ 2017-09-29 21:54:03 CET ] [ Original post ]

Small Particle Effects and Damage Updates

An update was pushed live yesterday, bringing screen shakes on damage, and a few additional particle effects in levels.
This was my first particle effect in Unreal - (I didn't even go near them in Source for Act I) - but expect to see more in levels in the future! Next update will be a content update - Lyall worked on overhauling the office area when he had a bit of time, and I'm finishing up integrating it into the content as we speak. Stay tuned! Alan

[ 2017-09-22 19:29:17 CET ] [ Original post ]

Damage Indicators, Movement Tweaks

An update is now live for Windows, with tweaks to the feel of the movement in the game, and tweaks to how damage and player death works.

Damage Indicators

There are now on-screen damage indicators to make it easier to see which direction you have been damaged from, and what exactly damaged you.

There are also some accompanying sounds – so in the case of melee damage you hear a thump, in the case of drowning you hear bubbles. This system will improve with the coming updates, but right now makes it far more readable as to how you are being damaged in the game.

Movement Tweaks

The movement in Act II now more closely mimics the movement controls in Estranged: Act I. The main change was the deceleration rate - now when you let go of a directional button, the player doesn't stop moving immediately. In addition, holding down space bar when swimming now makes the player swim up, and a longstanding bug where pressing a key whilst holding another would release the held key has been fixed. The goal of this update is to improve the general feel of the game, and make everything in the world feel immersive. Next week will be a content update which Lyall has been working on in the lobby area, which expands the area and introduces some new story elements. Thanks for playing! As always, please leave feedback in-game, on the forums, or email me directly at alan [at] alanedwardes (dot) com. I’m always blown away by how insightful the feedback we get is – in fact the features in this update were primarily driven by player feedback. If you have something you'd like to see, please get in touch! Alan

[ 2017-09-14 23:33:06 CET ] [ Original post ]

Intro Sequence Changes, Level Checkpoints

The below update is now live! I am currently taking a summer break which has meant I haven’t been able to work on Estranged a whole bunch over the past couple of weeks, but updates will resume their regularity soon.

Introduction Improvements

The introduction to the game has been tweaked to include the distress audio sequence from Act I, to provide more context to the player in the first few scenes. If players are new to the game, this scene is vital to build their understanding of the story, and provide enough of an introduction for them to want to play on, and find out more.

Level Checkpoints

When you load up this update, you will find that the levels (aside from the first) are all locked – to unlock subsequent levels you must play through the game. This change makes a lot more sense for newer players, as they are now presented with a logical ordering of levels to play through, and progression matters. Apologies to those that have completed the current set of levels before, you will have to play through again from the start – that’s a one-time thing. More work in this area will be done in the future, and this system will likely evolve into gameplay saves.

Danish Translations

Thank you to Ruby from the community who contributed Danish translations for this update, with some work from Niels. Including English, this brings the number of languages supported by Estranged up to 11! Thank you for everyone that has been involved in the project so far – as ever, in-game feedback, email, the forums and Steam reviews are all ways you can contribute to the project! Alan

[ 2017-09-08 20:55:55 CET ] [ Original post ]

Steam Reviews

TLDR; If you haven’t already, leave us a review! Tell us what you think about Estranged – we read every single review. The reviews on Steam are very important, as players use them to decide which games to play. Estranged: Act II currently sits with an average Steam score of over 70%, which we are extremely proud of for an unfinished Early Access game. http://store.steampowered.com/app/582890/

Addressing Reviews

I check the reviews on a regular basis, and work to either make a conscious effort to reply with corrections, or weigh up whether a work item should come out of the feedback to change the game. A good example of that is this review, where the author highlighted some pain points with the current game. I had the changes in the pipeline anyway so decided to prioritise them for the next build, and the author updated the review once they were put live.

Early Access

The cases are not always that simple however, some of the pieces of feedback which are difficult to address revolve around the game not being finished yet. That is always quite frustrating and in some ways paradoxical feedback – I decided to put the game forward for Early Access to get it into the hands of players sooner and get them involved in content during development. That does mean that the game is in an unfinished state during that time – and the expectations for Early Access vary from player to player. I think we need to do a better job at communicating at what state the development is in to players picking up the game for the first time. Ideas for that are welcome.

The Switch to UE4

There are a lot of reviews covering the switch to UE4, with some players rating Act II unfavourably as it no longer runs on the Source Engine. Addressing that kind of feedback is tricky – the decision to switch to UE4 was made by the team, to make development easier using the industry standard game engine tech. This is a case where a change made development easier for us as a development team, unfortunately disappointing the fans of Source. We are committed to continuing the feel of the first game in Act II, even with the engine difference. Like I said in the opening of the post, if you haven’t already please leave us a review! If you like the game, it lets us know we’re on the right track, and if you don’t it lets us know what to do to improve. Thanks for playing Estranged! Alan

[ 2017-09-03 20:11:32 CET ] [ Original post ]

Detailing, Level Tweaks and Spanish Translations

I am currently taking a summer break which has meant I haven’t been able to work on Estranged a whole bunch over the past couple of weeks, but updates will resume their regularity soon.

Detailing

The office, the sewer level and the earlier pool level have all received detailing updates, along with some updates to the first outdoor level to prevent players from getting stuck.

The levels in general are getting brighter, which has been a point of pain for some players.

Elevator Changes

The elevator on the pool level has been tweaked - now instead of using the in-game physics engine, it uses triggered logic to count the number of props added to the elevator. Once the mass reaches a certain level, the elevator drops down as before – however using an animation sequence, rather than a physically driven simulation.

This provides greater control over this sequence, and means that it behaves the same for every player.

Spanish Translations

The game is now localised to Spanish thanks for a contribution by Rafael P.H. This brings the list of supported languages in Estranged: Act II to Bulgarian, German, Spanish (Spain), French, Dutch, Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), Russian and Slovak. Thank you to all of the people that have contributed their translations to the project! If you’d like to translate Estranged to your language, drop me an email at alan [at] alanedwardes (dot) com. The translation sources are public and can be found on BitBucket: https://bitbucket.org/estranged/insulam.localization/src Thanks for playing! If you have any feedback, let me know directly, or use the in-game feedback, the forums or Steam reviews. Alan

[ 2017-09-01 06:24:34 CET ] [ Original post ]

Office Redesign and Weapon Changes

Updates have been more sporadic as I am taking a summer break, however they will resume their regular cadence soon.

Office Redesign

The Arque office has had an interior redesign by Lyall, with new rooms added and more elements to explore. There’s more work to do as will all levels, but these changes make the level feel a lot more immersive, and convey the scale of Arque’s operations. The range section has also been removed, because although this section was fun, it didn’t fit well with the overall pacing of the game, and provided the weapon a little earlier than it was really needed. The range is still available from the Extras menu, if you would like to practise your shooting skills.

Weapon Changes

We got a lot of feedback about how the weapon ammunition system should work – namely that reloading the weapon should not remove the bullets you currently have, it should instead take the ammo from your inventory and fill up the current clip. That change has now been made, making the implementation closer to Act I’s. The HUD’s secondary ammo account now displays the total bullets in your inventory, much closer to how this works in other games.

Flashlight Changes

The flashlight is now a lot brighter, using a different attenuation method and the battery lasts for 2x as long. A lot of feedback has focussed on how much of a chore it is to collect batteries and retain the flashlight charge, so this change should strike a better balance between the survival mechanic and play difficulty.

Feedback

I would like to thank everyone for contributing their feedback, either via email, the forums, or in-game. We also appreciate those who have reviewed Estranged on the Steam store – to those that haven’t, if you like Estranged, help others discover it by leaving us a review. The Early Access feedback process is an incredibly valuable tool for a hoteam the size of ours (3 people!), and getting as many people playing as possible is a great help for us. Thank you all for playing, Alan

[ 2017-08-25 20:55:00 CET ] [ Original post ]

Performance, Stability and Balance Improvements

An update is now live containing performance and stability improvements, along with game balance changes.

Balance Changes

The dynamic resupply system has been tweaked to include ammunition for weapons, and the overall number of dynamic resupply nodes has been tripled throughout the levels. Some players fed back to us that the game didn’t give the player enough batteries, which this should help to remedy. While there are other balance changes to be made, this is the first of many gameplay tweaks to ensure Estranged is a streamlined single-player experience.

Content Format Upgrade

For historic reasons, Estranged: Act II distributed as loose files on disk. For players with an SSD, this worked well and they would rarely see a loading screen – however, for players with mechanical hard drives, loading screens would be seen more often. In this update, the Estranged content has moved over to a monolithic single file PAK format, similar to VPK/GFC for those more familiar with Source. This allows for disks with lower seek speeds to load content much faster. You may notice this update takes a little longer to finish due to the conversion, however future updates should be the same speed as before.

Engine Upgrade

This update brings Estranged up to the latest Unreal Engine 4 version (4.17), which improves the stability and performance of the game in general. As ever, let us know what you think - feel free to email me directly at alan [at] alanedwardes (dot) com, or start a thread on the forums. Thanks for playing! Alan

[ 2017-08-10 21:12:37 CET ] [ Original post ]

The Forest

An update is now live containing the continuation of the previous final level, and multiple improvements to the sound in all levels.
The forest is the continuation of the fisherman’s adventures across the island, as he uncovers more and more secrets about its inhabitants, and the true nature of Arque’s presence. This content signals a darker turn in the game, and is not for the faint of heart!

Sound Improvements

Earlier in the week I highlighted the new soundscapes concept in a new development blog video. This content is now live with the tech applied to a plethora of areas in the game, with more areas planned in future updates. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjX9HrQS_FU

Additional Musical Pieces

Elliot has been working on additional musical pieces to augment levels, and set the tone for the game. The starting levels now have a very cinematic introductory track, along with some other pieces around the game. As ever, let us know what you think, either on the forums, the in-game feedback feature, or email me directly at alan [at] alanedwardes (dot) com. Thanks for being involved in the development of Estranged! Alan

[ 2017-08-03 20:44:48 CET ] [ Original post ]

Estranged Dev Blog #16: Soundscapes

Going into how to create immersive ambient sound for your UE4 levels using blueprints. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjX9HrQS_FU&list=PLFxFKQapTGSFAsR5LzRrG0N69bADwkeEt Save the Dev Blog playlist on YouTube to keep up with all future Estranged development videos.

[ 2017-07-31 19:48:01 CET ] [ Original post ]

Work on the Next Level

The update this week contains a few tweaks to the scripted sequences around the game, the in-game menu system, and computer terminal. This week included preparation work for an upcoming content update, which will continue the current level into a new area. That will land in the update next week to allow a bit more time to flesh it out and add polish. Please bear in mind that it will change over the coming week, but here's a preview of the next in-development level!
As ever, let us know what you think with the in-game feedback, forums, or email me directly - I'm alan [at] alanedwardes (dot) com. Alan

[ 2017-07-27 07:00:57 CET ] [ Original post ]

Menu Controller Support

This Thursday's update includes a completely overhauled main menu, adding keyboard and controller navigation support and an "auto detect" feature for the graphics settings menu.
The in-game screens will gain controller support in a future update. Let us know what you think here, using the in-game feedback feature, or on the forums! Alan

[ 2017-07-20 22:26:13 CET ] [ Original post ]

Next Level, More Options, French and Russian Translations

An update is now live for Windows, and will be available for Mac in the coming days.

New Final Level

I have been working on continuing the level content, starting with removing the final scene and instead fleshing out more of the underground water facility. This content ends quite abruptly, but will be the focus of upcoming content updates – follow as the game progresses.

Field of View, Gamma, and Hide HUD Options

There’s now a new “gameplay options” menu, offering the ability to change the Field of View, gamma and hide the player HUD to take screenshots. Gamma was requested by many of you via the in-game feedback, so I'm very happy it is finally in!

Achievement on Mac

Mac users are now able to get the shooting range achievement, and will be able to see their own name in the credits! These features were previously unavailable because of some build issues with the Steam SDK and Unreal Engine.

New Translations

Estranged has now been translated into French and Russian thanks to community volunteers! That brings the total list of languages to: Bulgarian, German, English, French, Brazilian Portuguese, European Portuguese, Russian and Slovak! If you’d like to contribute translations for your language, head over to the public localization repository on BitBucket: https://bitbucket.org/estranged/insulam.localization

Sounds

Elliot has been working hard on additional sounds and music for levels, including several ambient tracks, camera sound effects, and several level specific sounds. Thanks for contributing to the Estranged project! Your feedback helps shape the game. We’re always looking out for in-game feedback, the forums, or via email direct to alan [at] alanedwardes (dot) com. Alan

[ 2017-07-13 21:54:56 CET ] [ Original post ]

Achievement, Bullet Impacts, Depth of Field, Oxygen, Translations

An update is now live for Windows, and will be available for Mac in the coming days.

Depth of Field

A first-pass implementation of depth of field is included, where objects in front of the player are focussed, while things in the distance are blurred. This initial implementation limits itself, so that the blurring only occurs when the player is focussing a under metre in front – any further and the blur is removed.

Range Achievement

There is now an achievement for scoring at least 30 points on the shooting range, in a similar vein to the Act I Marksman achievement. This achievement is the first of many that will be added, and allowed me to test out the Steamworks SDK.

Bullet Impacts

There are now bullet impact particle effects for concrete, brick, glass, paper, and a few other surfaces. More work will be done in this in the coming weeks, but this makes the weapon feel a lot more grounded in the world.

Gun Lowering

In a small tweak to how the weapon is held, the gun now lowers itself when it detects it can’t fit in a space. This comes into effect when the player is up against a wall, or is facing down at a surface that the gun could clip through.

Oxygen

There is now a concept of Oxygen on the player character in Estranged. Once the oxygen is depleted whilst underwater, the player’s health begins to fall until their head is no longer underwater.

Translations

I am happy to announce that there are now translations to Slovak and German for the audio diaries and UI. French is also in the works, alongside the existing Bulgarian translations. If you would like to contribute, shoot an email to alan [at] alanedwardes (dot) com As ever, let me know your thoughts! Some of these new features are first passes, and your feedback will make them better. Thanks for playing Estranged! Alan

[ 2017-07-06 07:38:29 CET ] [ Original post ]

New Scene, Interactive Elements, Combat Tweaks

An update is now live for Windows 64 bit including a new scene, more interactive level elements and some combat tweaks. Other platforms will be updated in the coming days.
This week's update includes a new scene with a familiar friend from Act I. There are a few more interactive elements around the levels, providing insight into how Arque is monitoring the island. This is part of a long term goal to make the game feel more kinematic, making the Island feel like a real, compelling experience.

Combat Tweaks

This update also includes some combat tweaks, increasing the rate of fire for the M9 pistol, a new reload sound, and death animations for the infected. The combat will continue receiving improvements over future updates. Thank you for playing Estranged! If you have any feedback, I can always be reached at alan [at] alanedwardes (dot) com, or just drop a message below or on the forums. If you'd like to translate Estranged into your language too, get in touch. Thanks for playing Estranged! Alan

[ 2017-06-29 19:50:17 CET ] [ Original post ]

Shooting Range, Pistol Effects and Translation Work

An update is now live for Windows 64 bit, and will be available for Mac and Windows 32 bit over the coming days containing the following features:

Shooting Range

There is a now a shooting range in the lab – used by Arque employees to hone their skills on the range, this addition to the level allows you to practise your marksman skills.

Currently there is one difficulty level for this game, more difficulty levels will follow along with further refinements.

Pistol Effects

The M9 pistol now has muzzle flash effects and bullet decals for some surfaces. This makes the weapon feel more grounded in the world, as it can now affect it visually.

Future work in this area will involve creating particle effects when bullets hit, and making sure all surfaces have appropriate decals (right now there are two!).

Translation Work

There is now a public repository for all Estranged: Act II localisations, which anyone can contribute to: https://bitbucket.org/estranged/insulam.localization. I’ll be working to make this process easier over the coming weeks, with the goal of adding a UI into the game itself for contributing translations. If you’d like to work with me to translate Act II to your language, drop an email to alan [at] alanedwardes (dot) com – I am very interested in making Act II accessible to as many people as possible, the same as Act I. The UI and subtitles are now all translated into Bulgarian (aside from the in-game computers). As ever, feedback is much appreciated, whether it is in-game, on the forums, or direct via email. Thanks for playing Estranged! Alan

[ 2017-06-22 22:31:59 CET ] [ Original post ]

New Section in The Lab and the M9 Pistol

A new build is now live for Windows, including more content in the lab level, and the M9 pistol finally introduced into the game. Mac will receive the update in the coming days.

New Section in The Lab

The lab has now been extended to feature a new section, with a few new gameplay mechanics. The first pass here is designed to give you a glimpse into what happens in the Arque facility, and the dangers that lie within.

The section will be improved in the coming weeks - let us know how it feels, and if this type of gameplay is enjoyable for future content.

M9 Pistol

An initial implementation of the M9 pistol is now available in the game, introduced in the new lab section. Ammo is scarce for the weapon, and it is designed to be a last resort, protection for the player as they advance through the game.

I am especially interested in how this balances with the rest of the game, and how you feel its introduction is paced. The area that it is currently introduced in is intended to be a shooting range when it is fleshed out more, similar to the one introduced in Act I.

Separate 32 and 64 bit Builds

To maximise the number of systems that Act II can run on, until now Act II has been built only for 32 bit CPUs. However, the 32 bit build of Unreal Engine 4 has some incompatibilities with certain driver versions of certain AMD cards, which has caused players much frustration. This latest build is trailing separate 32 bit and 64 bit builds for Windows, with 32 bit behind the 64 bit builds in terms of release cycle (closer to Mac). As ever, any feedback is appreciated. Thanks for playing Estranged! Alan

[ 2017-06-15 20:55:24 CET ] [ Original post ]

Level Streaming Improvements, Moving to Git

A new build is now live for Windows incorporating some changes to how levels are streamed, this time built from a brand-new source control system.

Level Streaming Improvements

Some players may have seen levels appearing in the distance as they played through the game. This is due to the way Estranged uses level streaming, and means that players with slower hardware may have even been able to catch up to the point where the level hadn't loaded, and fallen through the world.

This update contains a change which means that players which are approaching a not-yet-loaded level are frozen in place with a "Loading" hint. This provides the behavior of Act I's loading screens, however only affects the platforms which cannot stream levels as fast as the player is progressing.

Moving to Git

For a long time, Estranged was developed on a version control system called Subversion. Subversion allows you to keep track of multiple versions of files, and allows you to store large binary files by only storing the differences between them.

Git is a newer, faster version control technology that makes it easier to work on different branches of the code, however for a long time hasn't been good with large binary files. This changed with the advent of Git LFS, which we have completely switched Estranged to use. Internally we use BitBucket, with a custom Git LFS server which we have released as open source: https://github.com/alanedwardes/Estranged.Lfs As ever, please let us know what you think! Alan

[ 2017-06-07 07:44:14 CET ] [ Original post ]

News Screen, Stamina and Movement Bindings

A new build is now live for Windows with the following additions (Mac will follow in a few days). These features will all be improved over the next few updates.

Update News & Changelog

To make it easier to follow updates on Estranged, I have added a news page when you open the game showing the Steam news and the latest build, and a changelog section:

The changelog section is a very raw view into the development on Act II, and lists all commits and all builds pushed to Steam so you can see what each incremental update contains. In future updates this will be extended to track public JIRA issues, so players can see which bugs are fixed, and which are outstanding.

Experimental Stamina

Stamina is now an experimental resource in Estranged Act II as it was in Act I, making is so sprinting is no longer unlimited. Under the hood this uses a new "resource" component, which is now also tracking flashlight power and health. An oxygen resource is planned, so it is not possible to stay underwater for long periods of time without surfacing (also a mechanic used in Act I).

Movement Key Rebinding

Some users have reported that it has not been possible for them to play Act II without support for rebinding the movement keys. For folks with AZERTY keyboards it is not comfortable to play with the default layout. Last week we received in-game feedback from a user with this problem, so I spent the evening making it possible to re-bind the movement keys in addition to the other action keys. If there are any other critical features you'd like to see, we are always reading the forums, the in-game feedback and comments. Alan

[ 2017-06-01 22:57:08 CET ] [ Original post ]

Improved Third Map, Hints

Hi all, To better communicate updates, I am planning to post these smaller stories highlighting recent changes that may be of interest to some people.
The update that landed yesterday (for Windows, today for Mac) contains a complete re-design of the third map to make the section feel more continuous, and the addition of a contextual hint system providing on-demand controls help for players.
Over the coming weeks I'll be continuing level design improvements and focusing on the weapons system (test map available from the Extras menu). I'll also be testing the new Unreal Engine version, which brings more graphical features and general improvements to stability. Thanks for playing Estranged, and as ever your continued feedback is vital for shaping the project. Thanks! Alan

[ 2017-05-25 07:25:57 CET ] [ Original post ]

Estranged: Act II

Alan Edwardes Developer

Alan Edwardes Publisher

2020-05-22 Release

Indie Casual Adventure Singleplayer Tags

FREE

Game News Posts: 97

🎹🖱️Keyboard + Mouse
🎮 Full Controller Support

Very Positive (279 reviews)

https://iamestranged.com/

Steam Store

The Game includes VR Support

Public Linux Depots:

Estranged: Act II Linux [5.61 G]

Estranged: Act II follows the story of a fisherman, stranded on a mysterious island during a violent storm.

The game continues after the events of Estranged: Act I, which followed our hero's adventure in a search for a way to get home.

Experience what the island has in store as you uncover the secretive Arque Corporation, burrowing ever deeper into their dangerous and haphazard operations.

Key Features

Adventure game with puzzle elements
Immersive story driven environments
Unique characters and narrative
Familiar first person shooter gameplay

Estranged Act II is built using Unreal Engine 4, please check the system requirements before downloading.

MINIMAL SETUPOS: Ubuntu 16.04 LTS and above. fully updated
Processor: Quad-core Intel or AMD. 2.5 GHzMemory: 3 GB RAM
Memory: 3 GB RAM
Graphics: GeForce GTX 470 and above. requires NVIDIA drivers: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BinaryDriverHowto/Nvidia
Storage: 10 GB available spaceAdditional Notes: Requires newer hardware than Act I

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