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

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

• 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

Other Quality of Life Changes

• 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

• 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.

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]

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

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)

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

• Czech
• German
• Persian
• Finnish
• Portuguese
• Slovak
• Turkish
• Vietnamese

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

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

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

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

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

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

Level Improvements

General Changes

• 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"

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

New Game Title

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

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

Prelude Improvements

New Cheats

• 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

#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 ]

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

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

LOCALIZATION UPDATES

FIXES

• 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)

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

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

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

New Achievements

Easter Eggs

Fire Safety

Release

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

New Achievements

New Temporary Ending

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

Brand New Content

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

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

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

Flashlight in Chapter 3

Working Towards Release

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

Gunplay Tweaks

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

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

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

Hammer Weapon & Arcade Changes

New Achievement

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

Hotfix 1.4.10 & 1.4.11

• 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

macOS Support

Content Work

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

French Translations

Background Work on New Content

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!

More Ending Content

Subtitle Improvements & Captions Support

Controller Button Re-Binding

Vietnamese Translations

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

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

More Ending Content

Bullet Ricochet

Statistics

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

New Achievements

AMD-FX CPU Fixes

Traduccion al Espaol (Spanish Translations)

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

Commentary

(Simplified Chinese Translation)

Music Improvements

New Language Menu

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

New Ending Scene

(Russian Translation)

Japanese and Czech Translations

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

Vending Machines

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

Reflections

Pick-Up Physics Improvements

Flushable Toilets

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

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

Capture Scene

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

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

Music

New Achievement

Hint Overhaul

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

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

Oxygen Meter

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

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

Act II Now Stays in your Steam Library

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)

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

Cheats Auto-Complete

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!

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

Continued Story Content

More Detailed Textures

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

Death Poses

Rubber Duck Technology

Pacing Tweaks and Level Additions

HUD Tweaks

CEO Bear Cheat

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

Graphical Improvements

Development Blog Videos

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

Chapter Titles & Save Game Thumbnails

More Content & Music in Chapter 3

New Bug Tracker

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

Underground Content

Opening Titles

New Community Wiki

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

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

Street and Apartments

New Guard Type

Playable Rifle

Save System Overhaul

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

Pickaxe

Water Fog

A build is now live on Steam for Windows!

Pickaxe Preview

Weapon Modifications

Development Blog Video

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

Master Water Collector

Spawn Object Cheat

Ambient Sound Changes

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

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

Varied Infected

New Cheats & Weapon Previews

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

Nvidia Ansel Support

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

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

Chapter 3 Work

Bullet Penetration

• 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

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

The Courtyard

• 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

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

• 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

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

Arque PR Offices

Horde Arcade Mode

Open Sourcing Estranged.Core

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

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

Lockdown

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

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

More Content

Bullet Tracers and Aiming Improvements

Development Blog Videos

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

Iron Sights

More Work on Current Ending

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

Next Level

Public Discord

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

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

Combat Improvements

Smaller Download

Linux Known Issue

Swedish Translations

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

Warehouse Outro

Updated Engine

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

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

Work on Save System

Character Movement Tweaks

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

Lab Entrance Sequence

Even Better Saving

Everything Else

Work on Ending

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.

More Content

Checkpoints

Controller Improvements

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

Advances in Door Technology

Buoyancy

Streaming Tweaks

Estranged in HTML5

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

Cheats

• God
• Pistol
• Ammo
• Gofast
• Jumphigh

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

Underwater Fog

Detailing

Other Changes

• 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

Concept Screenshot

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

New Infected

Forest Overhaul, Sewer Changes

Performance Improvements

Advanced Graphics Settings

Integrated Crash Dump Uploader

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

Twitter

Looking Forwards

Thank You!

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

Guard Detail

Graphical, Sound, Music Additions

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

Work on Human AI

Footsteps and Bullet Impact Effects

Sewer Changes

Puzzle Changes

Headshots

Weapon Recoil

AI Changes

Swedish Translations

Feedback 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

Object Highlight Changes

Changes to 8th Level

Work on 9th Level

Background Work

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

Engine Update

Interactivity Updates

Performance Improvements

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

New Website

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

Streaming Overhaul

Physics Tweaks

Explosive Barrels

Loading Screen

Italian Translations

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

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

Movement Tweaks

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

Level Checkpoints

Danish Translations

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

Early Access

The Switch to UE4

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

Elevator Changes

Spanish Translations

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

Office Redesign

Weapon Changes

Flashlight Changes

Feedback

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

Balance Changes

Content Format Upgrade

Engine Upgrade

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

Additional Musical Pieces

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.

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

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

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

New Final Level

Field of View, Gamma, and Hide HUD Options

Achievement on Mac

New Translations

Sounds

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

Depth of Field

Range Achievement

Bullet Impacts

Gun Lowering

Oxygen

Translations

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

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

Pistol Effects

Translation Work

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

M9 Pistol

Separate 32 and 64 bit Builds

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

Moving to Git

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

Experimental Stamina

Movement Key Rebinding

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