Aground Zero started with a simple idea: What if I made a 3D spinoff of Aground focusing on base building and automation? I teased this idea with an April Fools joke that turned out to be very real:
Now, four years later, weve shared another April Fools joke and Aground Zero is finally released! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3rN1CkJEcI

What is Aground Zero?

Imagine you wake up underground having missed the Apocalypse. At first, it takes all your energy just to survive, but after setting up a semi-automated base and waking up other survivors to help you operate machinery, you can focus your attention on returning to the surface and learning more about what happened to Earth while you were sleeping. The story has several revelations and takes place during the events of the original Aground game, but you do not need to have played Aground to enjoy Aground Zero. [previewyoutube=2gHgCtvtSLs;full][/previewyoutube] As you unlock and upgrade new technologies and improve your base, youll be able to take on projects like returning to space, finding survivors across the galaxy and even confronting the threat that destroyed Earth in the first place. And if that wasnt cool enough, you can even learn the secrets of magic and ride your own dragon! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZBzHsZscfo

What was added during Early Access?

We entered Early Access a little over a year ago, after finishing the core gameplay concept (base building and reaching the surface). During that year, we added a ton of content and features, including:

• Multiplayer (couch, local and online)
• 2 story endings
• Spaceships! 2 types to build, customize and fly
• Dragons! Raise, evolve and fly them
• Magic path - spellbooks, magic lab and more
• Science path - auto-builder, fleet battle, and more
• The Shattered Moon - moon base anyone?
• Space stations & new planets to visit, explore, and build on

You can see a bunch of these features and updates highlighted in this video playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcopWutJE4txCWk3PwS_MPsFZLp6patQe

Should I buy Aground Zero?

Obviously I think it's a great buy, especially if you enjoyed the original Aground, colony simulation, automation and base building type games. There's lots of areas to explore, secrets to find, and ample opportunity to flex your creativity. It's also really fun to play multiplayer with family or friends. If youre undecided, try the free Demo: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2255750/Aground_Zero_Demo/
The demo has about an hour of content and includes a lot of the underground base building elements - including waking up and managing survivors.

Will there be post-launch updates?

Maybe! Ive finished what I wanted to do story-wise, and Im not currently planning any major content updates, but feel free to make suggestions on our discord!
Weve made a lot of improvements and taken a lot of fan suggestions while in Early Access, and were always willing to hear you out!

[ 2025-04-04 14:54:22 CET ] [ Original post ]

In our last update: https://steamcommunity.com/games/876650/announcements/detail/4681018173926286592 We had a lot of interest in a Spanish Translation as well, and today I'm pleased to announce it is done! You can select it in the options menu once you've downloaded the update.
The translator also said it was tough to distinguish the lower case u from v in the default font (and I've had complaints about the font before), so I edited it to be crisper and have a larger difference between the two - and this will affect all languages that use the default font! Aground is also 66% for the Steam Autumn Sale - so if you haven't gotten Aground yet, or hesitated because it wasn't available in Spanish, now's your chance!

[ 2024-11-27 21:28:13 CET ] [ Original post ]

Fixed a bug that was causing frequent crashing, especially when playing in the Chinese language. This also has some stability improvements I made while trying to fix the actual crash - including backing up save files. If the game crashes during saving, it'll now make a saves.sol.bak file - and when you load the game, it should automatically read that file. Hopefully, this will lower the amount of players losing their saves, but I'd still back up files or use the Aground Cloud just in case.

[ 2024-10-17 00:00:41 CET ] [ Original post ]

Many of you have been waiting for the Chinese translation of Aground - which was greatly delayed. But I'm pleased to announce it is now available for all players! Simply go to the options menu, and under language, select .
This update also includes the big blocks version of the executable, which removes the 1GB memory restriction. Some players have already been using it, and it is less likely to crash due to running out of memory. We're also going to include Aground in Whitethorn's 8-year anniversary sale! Whitethorn is the console publisher of Aground, and we've been with them for many of those 8 years, so we're happy to celebrate! The sale starts today at 10am PDT, so if you haven't gotten Aground yet, today's a great time to pick it up!

[ 2024-09-23 13:21:52 CET ] [ Original post ]

I hope youre excited for Aground Zero - its been a long journey to reach this point - nearly 3 years of development - and we have so much more planned! https://store.steampowered.com/app/1795570/Aground_Zero/

What is Aground Zero?

Aground Zero is a 3D spinoff of Aground. It takes place in the same universe, but its story starts on Earth - while the main character in Aground was still aboard a colony ship heading towards their new home. You are stuck deep underground after the bombardment that destroyed the surface of Earth, and you have to find a way to survive. There is mining, crafting, building, rescuing survivors, and putting them to work. Theres also a larger focus on base building and automation, allowing you to rebuild, thrive and return to the Earths surface to see whats become of it.
If you played the original Aground, youll see plenty of references, easter eggs, and even a few familiar faces! If not, dont worry - knowledge of the original is not necessary to play Aground Zero.

Why Early Access?

Early Access worked very well for the original Aground - we got a ton of useful feedback and suggestions, which helped us shape the game. Even the magic path - a large chunk of connected quests - was originally a player suggestion from someone who wanted us to expand the role of the Alchemist. We hope to do the same sort of expansions with Aground Zero! The initial Early Access launch will have all the questlines up to the Surface - a large chunk of the main planned storyline. However, we also have a lot of planned additions (including spaceships) which you can see here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/1795570/discussions/0/7091547146194964814/

Try the Demo!

A lot of the original Aground players discovered the game through our lengthy free demo. So, we decided to have a lengthy demo of Aground Zero as well. The demo covers the initial stage of the game, with plenty of survival, base building and questlines up to finding the Professor. You can get the demo for free right on our store page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1795570/Aground_Zero/ If youre unsure about the game, the demo should give you a good idea of what to expect - and your saves will transfer to the full version should you decide to buy the game. The demo is also a good way to test if the game will run well on your computer (if youre worried about a 3D game running on your potato). Ive gotten it working on 8+ year old laptops, so give the demo a try, and if the demo runs smoothly, so will the full version.

Aground Collection

Do you want to own both Aground and Aground Zero? Then get the Aground Collection - which will give you a 15% discount and includes both games! If you already own Aground, you can choose the option to complete your collection, getting just Aground Zero at the discounted price.

Other Questions or Feedback?

Let us know in our Steam Discussions or on our Discord! I hope Aground Zero shapes up to be just as special as Aground, and I have a lot of ideas - but every bit of feedback helps!

[ 2024-01-18 19:02:31 CET ] [ Original post ]

As some of you may be aware, we ran a Kickstarter for Aground to fund development from the early web version until the early access release. We released exclusive items and weapons at different tiers for backers of the Kickstarter to thank them, and many players who missed the Kickstarter were upset they could no longer obtain these items.
After talking to the backers, some of these items were released publicly, but many (especially the appearance-only items) were kept private. However, after the recent update, I was asked to release these last items as DLC, and so these last exclusive items are now available with this DLC! https://store.steampowered.com/app/2382320/Aground__Backer_Items/ Pricing this DLC was strange, as the kickstarter backers needed to back at $40 to get all the items, but half of these items were already released publicly, and people must own the base game to buy the DLC. We decided $10 was a good compromise.
This DLC includes:

• 2 new functional weapons (laser whip and seeking missiles)
• 3 new hair styles
• 4 new facial hair styles
• 6 new colorable clothes
• 2 new colorable hats
• 5 new uncolorable hats
• Improved appearance of previously released backer weapons

If this is something youve wanted, then I hope you enjoy it, and if not, then the core Aground game is a complete experience on its own - this DLC includes mostly appearance-related items.
If you want EVERY item ever created for the game, I also added the web specials to the Steam Workshop (previously available on mod.io):

• Armor Games Web Specials Mod
• Kongregate Web Specials Mod
• Newgrounds Web Specials Mod

If you were confused by the April Fools update, here are some answers: [olist]

Yes, there really was an update. Both Splicer and Alchemist have new quests.

No, this update isn't really going to be removed. You can only trigger the Alchemist's new quest if your computer clock is set to April 1st, but once complete you can continue to cat things forever (and feel free to change your computer clock if you missed it).

My cat did indeed walk across my keyboard and edit the xml files for Aground while I was making this update.

He got a piece of turkey for helping out with the update. I hope this doesn't encourage him to edit more files in the future [/olist] The April Fools update was a fun distraction (and it includes lots of cats), but now Im back to working on Aground Zero and Stardander!

[ 2023-04-06 14:24:29 CET ] [ Original post ]

Oops! My cat walked across my keyboard and accidentally posted an update to Aground! Id been working on an update to Splicer, but it wasnt ready to be posted! And whats worse, it looks like he edited a few of the other files! I tried to bribe him with food, but all he would tell me was that the Alchemist is part of the cat-astrophe. Working on getting things un-catted - I should have everything back to normal by tomorrow.

[ 2023-04-01 14:24:40 CET ] [ Original post ]

Implemented the new ShowFloatingGamepadTextInput to pop up a floating text input field for use on the steam deck or big picture mode.

[ 2022-05-13 12:47:05 CET ] [ Original post ]

After the launch and final post-launch updates of Aground, we floundered (hah) for a bit deciding what to do next. We made many prototypes - several of which were put on hold, before finally settling on two games. Yes, thats right, were working on two big games right now, and if that wasnt wild enough, we also just finished a third game in a month-long game jam that you can play right now for free!

Stardander School for Witches

After finishing , the Visual Novel we made right before starting Aground, we had many ideas for better story-based games. But, at the time, we decided to hold off on them because of how challenging the visual novel market is. However, we both really like the magical school setting and kept trying to think of ways to make our witchy game idea better. We had loads of ideas before, during and after Agrounds development - from a tower-defense based game, to a multiplayer-only game. But, eventually we settled on a management/simulation style game where you can recruit, train, and battle with your witches - sort of like Fire Emblem: Three Houses.
This game is Stardander School for Witches, a narrative-heavy RPG rich in lore and worldbuilding, focusing on Dare (the fae cat you play as) and the witches she recruits. You can view the trailer for Stardander School for Witches below: [previewyoutube=HadLlt2nqkg;full][/previewyoutube] Stardander School for Witches will release Fall 2022, and you can wishlist it right now on Steam! https://store.steampowered.com/app/1733050/Stardander_School_for_Witches

Aground Zero

We also wanted to do something directly related to Aground, but I always want to try something new, and making DLC for the base game just didnt excite me. I wanted to change the art style, as a lot of people didnt like the pixel art. The idea for Aground Zero came to me when I was reminiscing about one of our first commercial projects, I Cant Escape: Darkness (ICED), which was a 3D game. I really liked a lot of the things I did for ICED, especially the lighting system (and I even had plans for a sequel), and I thought - why not make a 3D Aground spinoff? This idea was shortly before April, and prompted the April Fools joke of Aground: Minecraft Edition - a farcical but also partially true joke.

Aground Zero takes place during the events of the main game - but deep underground on Earth where you are one of the few survivors of the bombardment. You have to build up a bunker and rescue other survivors and eventually make your way to the surface. While itll have the mining and crafting of Aground, itll focus more on the base building aspects - taking the ideas from my scrapped colony update for Aground. You can view a short teaser for Aground Zero below: [previewyoutube=6dYxpTJZCjI;full][/previewyoutube] You can wishlist Aground Zero on Steam now: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1795570/Aground_Zero/

Stardander Revenant

As if making two games at the same time wasnt enough, when the Spooktober visual novel jam came around, we couldnt resist making a halloween-themed spinoff of Stardander. The core mechanics are the same as Stardander School for Witches, but the story, characters and enemies were all made in the month of September for the jam.
Stardander Revenant is short (1-2 hours) and story-focused, but I definitely like the interactions between the two main characters (fun fact: they are based on our cats). Youll also have some interesting battles (especially on hard mode) that require you to utilize the spells that your two older witches have learned (and you get to teach them some more spells along the way). You can view the trailer for Stardander Revenant below: [previewyoutube=eQbScUf-oL4;full][/previewyoutube] And you can play Stardander Revenant now, for free: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1779840/Stardander_Revenant/

Wrapping Up

Thats a lot of announcements to go through, and it looks like 2022 is going to be a busy year for us at Fancy Fish Games! Which game are you most excited for? Did you give Stardander Revenant a try? And, after having made many prototypes, I have plenty of ideas for what to make next! My game ideas document continues to grow (now at 61 entries), so Stardander and Aground Zero are only the beginning! Look forward to a lot more from Fancy Fish Games!

[ 2021-10-20 19:50:56 CET ] [ Original post ]

This is a minor update that only affects Steam Big Picture mode and the upcoming Steam Deck. The game now uses the on screen keyboard, and a few tweaks to the controls have been made (the largest being that keypresses now perform actions on release instead of held, with a few exceptions like placing nets/rails). The Linux build is also 64-bit now, the 32-bit build being retired (there are very few people still running a 32-bit linux OS, and it can be tough to get 32-bit builds running on 64-bit linux depending on the OS).

[ 2021-10-19 15:07:14 CET ] [ Original post ]

A modder found potential exploits that a malicious modder could use in Aground (if you installed their mod). This patch blocks those exploits. As far as we know, no mods took advantage of these exploits, and this version is immune to them.

[ 2021-04-09 13:33:35 CET ] [ Original post ]

After some delays and challenges, were finally ready to announce exactly when Aground will be coming to consoles (PS4, Switch and XBox One)! I know many of you have been waiting for a while and keep asking when they are coming, and that date is now set: February 11th, 2021! Mark your calendars!
I hope youre looking forward to the release! The console versions are being published by Whitethorn Digital and have all of the offline features of the game. Online features (like mods and multiplayer) are a little more challenging on consoles, but may come in a future update depending on how the console launch goes!
This is our first game to come to consoles - a major milestone for Fancy Fish Games and everyone on the development team! Achievement unlocked! Well be in our Discord ready to celebrate on the 11th!

[ 2021-01-26 16:37:35 CET ] [ Original post ]

Materia Collective is excited to release the Aground Original Game Soundtrack Deluxe Edition featuring music by composer Chase Bethea. The deluxe edition includes the entire Aground soundtrack along with seven additional tracks never heard before, two tracks from Deity Quest, and three pieces of piano sheet music transcribed by Materia Collective's David Peacock. Aground's music covers a spectrum of rhythms and genres, using funky time signatures, psychedelic synths, chiptune elements, and guitars.
"Aground features an amalgamation of styles and a hybrid signature sound that is undeniably unique and inimitable," comments composer Chase Bethea. "It feels like every track had some new sound or idea that kept up the interest over a Very. Long. Running. Time. I am proud that the community, who I called the 'Agroundians,' recognize what I was trying to bring to the music for the game." The Aground Soundtrack is Available on Steam here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1163780/Aground_Soundtrack_Deluxe_Edition/ And the Deluxe Edition tracks were automatically added to everyone who already bought the soundtrack.

[ 2020-12-14 18:32:18 CET ] [ Original post ]

The KOZ Modding Colosseum started out as a way to encourage new mods for Aground and put the spotlight on the growing Aground modding community, and we definitely succeeded in those goals. The competition saw the rise of a new Master modder (Lybell) at UAMT (the Unofficial Aground Modding Team), it gave Alchemist an excuse to finish his revised super mod that was gathering dust, and it even brought back a former master (CH355) to attempt his dream mod. Even the novices showed up and made some strong entries. If you want to learn more about the competition, you can see the original event: https://steamcommunity.com/games/876650/announcements/detail/2733073087959094294 And now, it is time to reveal the winners. Drumroll please!

Grand Prize

For the all-around best-made and most enjoyable to play mods.

Winner

Venemoto by Lybell is an extremely well put together mod that got high marks in all categories except music (which it had none). Even if youre not a fan of platformers, you have to acknowledge the hard work put into it, made even more impressive by the fact that this was made entirely by one person. While there are a few rough areas and room for improvement, that doesnt change the fact that this is an exceptional mod and Im looking forward to seeing where Lybell goes with it. Congratulations Lybell! [table][tr][th]
___Venemoto A lot of players assume Aground must be a platformer because of the side-scrolling view, and on this toxic planet, it really is! Jump dangerous pit traps, explore a large metroidvania-style level, upgrade your jumpsuit to progress further and discover more of what the planet has to offer![/th][/tr][/table]

2nd Place

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2245382625

3rd Place

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2243382600

Prettiest Pictures

For the best looking new art. NOTE: Thirallan wasnt eligible for the art or music categories due to it using art and music created before the competition began.

Winner

Mekaphelin by Team NekoTron (TNT) is a mod that definitely focuses more on the creative side (art, music, story), and a lot of effort was put into the characters, NPCs, and especially the cutscenes - having higher-resolution cutscenes really helps bring the NPCs to life - like when CH355 smiles or all Luxoris UwUs. The judges were split over whether Mekaphelin or Venemoto should win art, but in the end the charm, cats and cutscenes swayed the final vote. They have a long way to go to add everything theyre planning, but I think they can make it! Congratulations NekoTron! https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2245382625

2nd Place

[table][tr][th]
___Venemoto A lot of players assume Aground must be a platformer because of the side-scrolling view, and on this toxic planet, it really is! Jump dangerous pit traps, explore a large metroidvania-style level, upgrade your jumpsuit to progress further and discover more of what the planet has to offer![/th][/tr][/table]

3rd Place

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2246084480

Bopping Beats

For the best sounding new audio tracks.

Winner

Mekaphelin by Team NekoTron (TNT) won this category by default, as no other mod finished and integrated new music. But dont let the win by default fool you, the music is great - I still catch myself humming Grow Together every now and then! Congratulations NekoTron! https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2245382625

Honorable Mention

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2246084480 The 8-bit wolf did compose a new track during the competition, but did not have time to integrate it into their mod. Im impressed with Dark Magic, given that it comes from a novice and they had so little time to work on they mod due to restricted computer access. I hope 8-bit wolf will continue to work on the mod and give it the time it needs!

Fanciest Features

For the most interesting/fun new game mechanics.

Winner

Venemoto by Lybell definitely added the most new and interesting game mechanics. Even if you dont count the platforming (which is a vanilla feature), turning Aground into a metroidvania with traps, switches, upgrades, and challenging boss fights took a lot of work, and Lybell still has more planned like the blinker, so I have high hopes for future features! Congratulations Lybell! [table][tr][th]
___Venemoto A lot of players assume Aground must be a platformer because of the side-scrolling view, and on this toxic planet, it really is! Jump dangerous pit traps, explore a large metroidvania-style level, upgrade your jumpsuit to progress further and discover more of what the planet has to offer![/th][/tr][/table]

2nd Place

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2243325940

3rd Place

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2243382600

Spellbinding Story

For the best new storyline.

Winner

Thirallan Alchemist Edition by Team EA is quite the adventure. Some sinister corruption has been taking over the entire system - whether it be robots that rebelled against their masters or people turning into zombies to attack their old friends. The real strength of Thirallans story is all the events that happen - many mods have large epic backstories, but Thirallan has a lot more story evolution and progression that you actually get to play through. You end up curious who or what is causing the corruption, and even questioning the motives of your allies. And, given that only Robot Rebellion and part one of the main planet are done, I think the team has a lot more in store for us. Congratulations EA (Alchemist with a bit of help from a bird). https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2243382600

2nd Place

This was a tie. Once again the judges were split, but since this wasnt a prize-winning position, we decided to let them share 2nd place. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2245382625 [table][tr][th]
___Venemoto A lot of players assume Aground must be a platformer because of the side-scrolling view, and on this toxic planet, it really is! Jump dangerous pit traps, explore a large metroidvania-style level, upgrade your jumpsuit to progress further and discover more of what the planet has to offer![/th][/tr][/table]

Audience Award

For the most upvotes in the Steam Workshop during the voting period.

Winner

Thirallan Alchemist Edition by Team EA got the most votes. Ill admit, I was expecting something ridiculous to win the audience award as always seems to happen with voting, but in this competition, the audience votes and judge votes seemed to be very similar - with Thirallan and Mekaphelin having a lot more votes than any other mod (Venemoto was not available in the steam workshop, and so was not eligible). With the audience not ignoring the old work Alchemist put into Thirallan, its no surprise that Thirallan won, its an incredibly extensive mod already, and if Alchemist completes everything hes planning, it will be downright massive. Congratulations EA! https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2243382600

2nd Place

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2245382625

3rd Place

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2245390141 [hr][/hr] Thank you to everyone who participated in this contest, and congratulations again to all the winners - we will be getting in touch with you shortly! And good job to the novices who tried so hard even against the masters - even if they didnt win any cash prizes. I know KOZ is considering a novice-only competition, so keep polishing your skills and stay tuned for the next competition!

[ 2020-10-09 18:04:12 CET ] [ Original post ]

After two months of hard work, the finals are here and the mods are uploaded! Its time to play and vote on your favorite mods! For more information on the competition, see this event: https://steamcommunity.com/games/876650/announcements/detail/2733073087959094294

Judging and Audience Award

Over the next week, the judges will be reviewing the mods, and well announce the results of all the awards on October 9th. For the Audience Award, you can vote on a mod by giving it a thumbs up in the Steam Workshop between now and midnight on October 8th. Downvotes will not be counted, so there is no reason to downvote a mod to try to help another mod win the audience award.

Team Lybell: Venometo

A lot of players assume Aground must be a platformer because of the side-scrolling view, and on this toxic planet, it really is! Jump dangerous pit traps, explore a large metroidvania-style level, upgrade your jumpsuit to progress further and discover more of what the planet has to offer! Due to being unable to access steam on his current computer, he will not be able to upload to the steam workshop until later this month. However, you can still play the mod here: https://aground.mod.io/venometo

Team EA: Thirallan Alchemist Edition

This mod is a kind of collection of my other mods, except they have all been redone to be much better mods. All into one star system. Are you ready to experience what these mods should've been like from the start? https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2243382600

Team NekoTron (TNT): Mekaphelin

On a far-flung forgotten world, there lies a lost colony and it's up to you to find out why. What happened to the settlers? Why is the world filled with cyborg cats? Find the answers to these questions and many more, as you explore the curious and strange world of Mekaphelin: CybCats. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2245382625

Team Birb: Spirit Sandbox

You do almost anything you wish inside of your Realm, from releasing enemies you caught outside to painting around with tiles. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2243325940

Team Styler: Cynoserium

Would you like to explore the secrets of a new place where you will find new resources, enemies, familiar, mazes, bosses etc? If yes, download/subscribe to this mod now! https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2245390141

Team 8-bit Wolf: Dark Magic

To go to hell you must first craft a demonic forge at a crafting table and then a demonic key using the demonic forge, after that go at the starting area at the far left, next to the sand and start digging down, after around 20 tiles you should find a portal. Use the key to open the portal and you will be able to use it to go to hell. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2246084480

Team Curatrixians: Curatrixia

Welcome to the Realm of Curatrixia, the home of the True Elemental Gods. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2244606263

Dark Horse: Leaftech

As you might expect if you know Leafy, he showed up out of nowhere with a half-serious mod for the competition! Leafy himself says its broken and shouldnt even be public yet, but its here to play only during the competition! https://aground.mod.io/leaftech ----------- The following teams dropped out due to not having enough time: Team Zeta Labs, Team Hive. Thank you to everyone who participated in the contest, and good luck to the teams as the final voting and judging begin!

[ 2020-10-02 21:14:26 CET ] [ Original post ]

One of the most asked-for post launch updates, the Hybrid Path is finally here! This update adds a lot more combinations of magic and science, along with a new ending to the game (and some new post-game content). We wanted to make a path that combined the strengths of both magic and science, but was the most difficult to obtain, requiring progress along both the current magic and science questlines.
To progress on the Hybrid Path, youll want to talk to the Professor, the Mirrows, and the Alchemist. The questline definitely plays better in a new or early save, but you can do an abbreviated version after the end of the game (on any path) to get all of the new items, vehicles and areas.
The following changes affect the full version:

• Added new items and vehicles for the hybrid path.
• Added new quests and a new NPC.
• Added a new area to explore.
• Added a new ending to the game, that does not require defeating the final boss.
• Added the Bombardment Shield, for players that hate the bombardment. You can even set it up after the Bombardment starts, and the NPCs will leave their bunkers before the end of the game!
• Added a new official translation - German!

This is our last planned major update for Aground, at least for now. Let us know what you think! To celebrate this milestone update, Aground is on sale this week for 34% off - our largest discount yet. Enjoy, and as always, dont be shy if you have any questions or feedback - we are always happy to hear from our players. And dont forget to join the social channels below if you havent already: [url=http://discord.gg/aground]Discord [url=https://www.reddit.com/r/aground]Reddit [url=https://twitter.com/fancyfishgames]Twitter Facebook

[ 2020-09-07 17:03:13 CET ] [ Original post ]

We announced the theme - To Boldly Go - two weeks ago, and since then weve had many submissions to the modding colosseum with new worlds and areas to explore! Below is a list of all the teams that passed the qualifiers, along with a special bonus mod you can play right now! For more information on the competition, see this event: https://steamcommunity.com/games/876650/announcements/detail/2733073087959094294

Team Lybell: Venometo

A lot of players assume Aground must be a platformer because of the side-scrolling view, and on this toxic planet, it really is! Jump dangerous pit traps, explore a large metroidvania-style level, upgrade your jumpsuit to progress further and discover more of what the planet has to offer!

Team EA: Thirallan Alchemist Edition

Discover the wreckage of a colony ship in a strange new system. What caused the ship to crash? Why are the robots and drones going berserk and trying to kill you? And most importantly, are there any survivors? This ambitious mod will add an entire star system, with the colony ship mystery being just one part of the whole!

Team NekoTron (TNT): Mekaphelin

Did you know there was a colony of sentient cats? Wouldnt it be great if you could talk to them? Luckily theres a cyborg cat who knows just the nanites you need! Help CH355 make peace with the ferals and learn the secrets of this mysterious world.

Team Curatrixians: Curatrixia

Just when you thought the world was saved and the game over, a strange entity requests your help. Youll need all your magic and skill to defeat the elemental gods in this new post-game realm!

Team 8-bit Wolf: Dark Magic

Arsonist McStabby was not satisfied mining every island and killing every enemy, so one day he decided to perform a dark ritual and unlock the door to hell itself so he could mine and kill everything there too!

Team Zeta Labs: Wyrm Tales

Ever wonder what itd be like to be a wyrm? Travelling around, mining, fighting rival wyrms, and most importantly - serving your queen. You may even be able to evolve into new forms and gain power.

Team Birb: Spirit Sandbox

Have you ever wanted to create your own spirit world? A domain to do with as you please? Well, now you can - just talk to the spirit guide after defeating the final boss, and hell help you out for a price

Team Styler: Cynoserium

Hidden underground is a secret cave. And in that secret cave is a strange and valuable resource that can create some of the most powerful equipment known in Aground but it is guarded by dangerous enemies and worse...

Team Hive: Treasure Hunt

Do you like exploring? How about searching for buried treasure? Join the Archaeologist in his mission to discover hidden treasure, lost temples, and ancient caves! -------------------

Bonus: KSP Meets Aground

In celebration of this competition, gASK - one of the judges, created a new mod that you can play right away: https://aground.mod.io/ksp-meets-aground ! Help the KSP with their first mission to the mun - with your powerful spaceships, even Kerbals cant mess it up! ------------------- Good luck to all the teams, Im looking forward to all the new worlds and ideas! Well be holding an informal feedback session on September 1st where you can play and give feedback on in-progress versions of the mods, and youll be able to play and vote on the final mods September 30th! Join the discussion in the Aground Modding Server: https://discord.gg/ySkErpx

[ 2020-08-12 16:14:17 CET ] [ Original post ]

KOZ is sponsoring an Aground Modding Competition! If you're a current or aspiring Aground Modder, read the rules below, and if you're not, stick around to try out the mods and vote on your favorites! Like with game jams, this contest will have a single theme for all participants and an end date when the mods must be submitted and judging/voting begins.

Details

Theme - To be announced July 27th. Contest End - September 30th.

Qualifier Round

After the theme is announced, you can brainstorm ideas and share them to get feedback from the community/Judges and build teams. Then, on August 8th you must submit a basic prototype of the mod. These prototypes will be judged, and ONLY the prototypes chosen by the judges can enter the full competition. There is no limit to the number of mods that can make it past the qualifier rounds. Ideas and prototypes must be submitted to this link by August 8th to be considered for the qualifier round: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfGAg57IfpmWpgm1Q1tYXxC3cm9nZ_OOhskn6K7LurlBjCe2g/viewform Every primary developer that passes the qualifier round will be given a Steam key of Aground (to help you make the mod, or gift to a friend/team-member if you already own the game)!

Teams

Teams are allowed, but one person must be designated as the primary developer, and they will be in charge of distributing any prizes the team wins. You can be a part of multiple teams, but you can only be the primary developer in one.

The Contest

Once you've made it past the qualifier round, you have until September 30th to finish the mod and submit it for judging and voting! The submitted mod does not have to be complete and can be updated after that, but the judging and voting will only account for what is submitted by the end date. To be submitted, the mod must be uploaded to Steam Workshop and/or Mod.io and set to public by the deadline with the team name that passed the qualifier round in the description.

The Judging

On September 30th, the submitted mods will be shared with everyone following this event, and voting will be opened. Awards (with prizes) will be given out by the judges, along with an Audience Choice award for the mod with the most votes.

Awards & Prizes

Grand Prize - $150 - Best mod overall Prettiest Pictures - $50 - Best looking new art Bopping Beats - $50 - Best sounding new audio tracks Fanciest Features - $50 - Most interesting/fun new game mechanics Spellbinding Story - $50 - Best storyline Audience Award - $50 - Most votes
All money prizes are in USD and will be sent via paypal (requires a valid paypal account). Judges KOZ (sponsor) Terra0nova (co-sponsor and Aground developer) Unannounced UAMT Masters (modders)

Resources

Aground Modding Discord: https://discord.gg/djycx6R First Mod Tutorial: https://corvblimey.github.io/aground-tutorial/ Modding Basics Guide: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1570801575 I'm hoping this will be a fun, exciting event for both new and old modders, and a way to bring some new, exciting mods to life for Aground!

[ 2020-07-22 14:54:57 CET ] [ Original post ]

2.0.7 is now live! Like 2.0.6, its another small update with some neat additions, bug fixes and quality of life improvements. The following changes affect the full version:

• Added a Backer NPC and cameo. All players can find and talk to these NPCs, and theres even a new quest. Hint for finding them: check divider island and CaptAIns colony.
• Thanks to the generosity of our Backers, some of the Backer exclusive weapons are now available for everyone (Boomerang, Laser Sword and Leech). Backer weapons also work now in Multiplayer even if some players are Backers and others are not.
• Fin modifiers now lower the use cost of all Equipment (stamina, power, etc).
• When you enter a Colosseum Arena, the difficulty is set to Normal while you are in that Arena (it will return to normal when you leave). This is because the Arenas were balanced with Normal difficulty in mind, and some of them are impossible in 1hko. You can still change difficulty while inside the Arena if you want an extra (perhaps impossible) challenge.
• PvP combat is now possible in multiplayer with a dev console command. Because the game is not cheat proof and is not balanced for PvP, I am not making this a publicly available option, but I added it for modders to play with, and for adventurous non-modders. Join our Discord if you want to learn more!

These changes affect the demo as well:

• The Owl familiar, when equipped, now zooms out the game (like when you are riding a spaceship). This lets you see further, and gives you the option to always be zoomed out if the normal zoom level is too pixelated for your tastes.
• Hotkeys will no longer unequip equipment. Some players like hitting an equipment hotkey multiple times to make sure its set, and before this would unequip what they wanted to equip. Equipment will still swap back and forth unless you uncheck Switch Equipment Hotkeys in gameplay options.
• Other bugfixes and minor tweaks/improvements.

In other news, we have started work on a Hybrid Path, which will be the first major post-launch update. It will combine the magic and science path and add a new ending, new equipment, spaceships and more! The Hybrid Path should be available by the end of the summer. Enjoy, and as always, dont be shy if you have any questions or feedback - we are always happy to hear from our players. And dont forget to join the social channels below if you havent already: [url=http://discord.gg/aground]Discord [url=https://www.reddit.com/r/aground]Reddit [url=https://twitter.com/fancyfishgames]Twitter Facebook

[ 2020-06-12 20:44:34 CET ] [ Original post ]

Our first post-launch update is live! 2.0.6 is a small update, but it adds a few neat features and finishes the last incomplete area. It also has a lot of bugfixes and minor quality of live improvements. The following changes affect the full version:

• The final "incomplete" area is now complete. If you know what I'm talking about, try entering that portal now!
• Multiplayer will now check that the game version and mods match when joining a game.
• Various multiplayer bugfixes - including issues joining by IP address.

These changes affect the demo as well:

• Water now has a more natural flow and is easier to drain and plug leaks. Before, a single water tile would spread infinitely to any tiles left, right or below. Now, water will move and evaporate, so one water tile will never spread to more than one tile (and often less).
• Game difficulty is now set per save, not globally. You can have a hardest difficulty save and a normal difficulty save without having to manually switch difficulty modes each time you load. New saves will be set to the last difficulty mode you used.
• The Shift key is now an official, assignable "walk" key and has controller support. It also allows you to slow down blueprint placement for pixel-perfect placements.
• Controls have been changed to a keyboard+mouse layout where you attack/defend with left/right clicks. C and Space still work as alternates, and you can change the controls in the options menu.
• Adjusted the default controls for QWERTZ and AZERTY keyboards (windows only for now).
• The game's FPS can be adjusted with the command line argument -fps x, and vsync can be turned off with -vsync false.
• The auto-collect gameplay option now lets you change it to always auto-collect, never auto-collect, or set to default (auto collect unless overweight).
• Other bugfixes and minor tweaks/improvements.

Going forward, I have some final backer rewards to deliver, and I am considering options for the hybrid path. I have also finalized the design document for my next planned game, which I plan to start once things slow down a bit with Aground! Enjoy, and as always, dont be shy if you have any questions or feedback - we are always happy to hear from our players. And dont forget to join the social channels below if you havent already: [url=http://discord.gg/aground]Discord [url=https://www.reddit.com/r/aground]Reddit [url=https://twitter.com/fancyfishgames]Twitter Facebook

[ 2020-05-02 18:24:42 CET ] [ Original post ]

Today is the day! Aground has left early access and is now fully released for PC, Mac and Linux! The launch build includes Co-op multiplayer (up to 4 players), two official translations (more to come), modding support, two backer planets, the complete science and magic paths, and much, much more.
Its been a very full 2.5 ish years - but we didnt do it alone. A huge thank you to:

• Our awesome crowdfunding backers - your support kept us going.
• Our Beta testers, Discord and Reddit communities - you found many bugs and shared much enthusiasm!
• All the streamers and Lets Plays that have shared the fun of Aground with their watchers - your impact is amazing.
• Our families and friends - for putting up with us being in this wild, creative, unpredictable field of work!!

Nows the time to jump in and share the game far and wide! Tell your friends, stream your gameplay, get on social media, join a Multiplayer game online going out is dangerous, right? Might as well stay in and play / share Aground. [previewyoutube=Ia0Rk-73OFQ;full][/previewyoutube] It was so much fun hanging with the community and streaming today - we chatted with fans about the development process and all hit the launch button together! What an exciting moment! Aground will also be coming to Switch, PS4 and Xbox later this year - keep an eye out for more announcements as that gets closer. Stay safe everyone, and Enjoy! -The Fancy Fish Games Team [url=http://discord.gg/aground]Discord [url=https://www.reddit.com/r/aground]Reddit [url=https://twitter.com/fancyfishgames]Twitter Facebook

[ 2020-04-17 20:47:47 CET ] [ Original post ]

Aground has finally reached update 2.0 - and its a big one - it adds co-op multiplayer! You might have seen the multiplayer beta announcement: https://steamcommunity.com/games/876650/partnerevents/view/1712996449562039865 But it has now been tested and is ready for everyone to try!
More big news: we now have an official launch date - we will leave Early Access on April 17th! To celebrate, we created a revised, launch-ready trailer with the help of friend @MJoshua and score remix by Chase. Watch it here: [previewyoutube=Ia0Rk-73OFQ;full][/previewyoutube] To play a game in Multiplayer, one player must host a save slot (it can be a new game), and then others can join that save. To host a save, select Multiplayer, enter a name for yourself and select Host Game, then select a slot to host.
To join a game, select Multiplayer, then enter a name for yourself and select Join. It will show a list of everyone publicly hosting the game and you can select one to join, or you can manually input their IP address to join their game. We also added a chat feature for Multiplayer - in game, hit Tab to chat, and type /help in chat for a list of useful commands!
Some April 1st shenanigans in the Multiplayer Beta. We also added our first official translations: by popular demand, Russian and Brazilian Portuguese! We are still planning on adding more, but these translations were included in the big 2.0 update! I hope you enjoy being able to play with friends, and let me know if you come across any issues! With only a few days until our full launch date, were hoping to fix any last minute bugs and maybe add a few more last minute quality of life updates!
Going out is dangerous! Stay in and play Aground! P.S. Dont forget to join the social channels below if you havent already: [url=http://discord.gg/aground]Discord [url=https://www.reddit.com/r/aground]Reddit [url=https://twitter.com/fancyfishgames]Twitter Facebook

[ 2020-04-12 18:06:57 CET ] [ Original post ]

After more than three months of hard work, the Multiplayer update is now available in Steams BETA branch, and we are hoping to push it to live within 3-4 weeks! The BETA branch is publicly available to all Steam owners who opt-in, so you can try Multiplayer right now!
To opt-in to the BETA, right click Aground in your Steam library and click properties. Then go to the Betas tab and select beta in the drop down (no beta access code is necessary - leave it blank). Once done, Steam will download the beta version and it should say Aground [beta] in your library. You can use this drop-down to return to the stable version at any time. The BETA is currently Windows only - this is because we have to push frequent updates and bugfixes. The Mac and Linux versions will get cross platform Multiplayer before it goes live. To play a game in Multiplayer, one player must host a save slot (it can be a new game), and other players can join that save. To host a save, select Multiplayer, then enter a name and select Host Game and select a slot to host.
To join a game, select Multiplayer, then enter a name and select Join. It will show a list of all friends currently hosting the game and you can select one to join, or you can manually input their name or IP address to join their game. You should also be able to join or invite people to play by right clicking them in steam chat. Our Discord server now has a #looking-for-players channel too - so check it out if you want to find someone to play with! Multiplayer has been tested for a while in a closed Alpha, and enjoyed by many folks when we showcased the game at PAX a few weeks ago. It should be mostly bug free at this point, but if you encounter any bugs, definitely let us know.
Thank you to all our dedicated fans for your patience and enthusiasm - we hope youre looking forward to Multiplayer going live in just a few short weeks, and the Full Launch next month!

[ 2020-03-12 16:49:01 CET ] [ Original post ]

Aground is Coming to PAX East!!! We made it happen, folks - we are so excited to be able to share Aground at a big expo again and meet so many fans out there! Please stop by at booth # 25047 - in the central area of the show floor, Boston, February 27-Mar 1. Additionally, if you are in the Boston area (but maybe not attending PAX), we will also be at the Pregamer event, Wednesday Feb 25th, 6-10pm, which is free! Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/pregamer-pax-east-edition-tickets-87148881651
Photo from our Booth at PAX West 2018
Rocking out alchemists robes while demoing the game. We will be showcasing Multiplayer at both events, which is very exciting! Weve been quietly working on Multiplayer for a long time now, and we finally have something demo-able. Multiplayer is currently in Alpha, and is stable on the starting island - visit the #beta-feedback channel of our Discord if you want to learn how to sign up for the Alpha.
Were hoping to transition multiplayer to the public beta in early March, and go live at the end of March/Early April (right before the full launch). Its pretty exciting, but also a crazy busy time for us - preparing for launch, finishing multiplayer, getting ready for PAX, etc. Its been nearly 3 years since I first had the idea for this game, and while its definitely evolved into something more than I originally imagined, its also fulfilled all my hopes for the game (with space travel and everything). We also have official translations in the works for the full version - by popular request, were translating the game into Portuguese and Russian. Our console publisher, Whitethorn Digital, is also translating the game into French (and is considering other languages too). Speaking of Whitethorn Digital, they will also be at PAX East (booth 28035), and they are hoping to have a Switch demo of Aground running! Were looking forward to seeing many of you at next weeks events, and we hope youre as hyped for multiplayer as we are! P.S. Dont forget to join the social channels below if you havent already: [url=http://discord.gg/aground]Discord [url=https://www.reddit.com/r/aground]Reddit [url=https://twitter.com/fancyfishgames]Twitter Facebook

[ 2020-02-18 20:39:45 CET ] [ Original post ]

The second (and final) backer planet is out, along with a second batch of quality of life improvements to the game. The new planet is called the Depths (for reasons that will quickly become clear), and once again anyone can travel to it by going to the new star system (its at the bottom right of the star map).
This planet is mostly about exploration - the quests dont guide you as closely as the science path. Theres a lot hidden, and its better to go into it blind, but if you get stuck dont forget to try fighting some of the new enemies.
We also added Difficulty Modes this update. Unlike in most games, you are not asked to set a Difficulty Mode when you start a new game, instead you can change it in the settings at any time. Weve had people complain that the game is too easy, and others that it is too hard, so we decided to give players the flexibility to adjust the game difficulty up or down as they play. Is one planet or boss too difficult? Move the difficulty down. Too easy? Move it up. Since you can change it whenever you want, you never have to worry about choosing the wrong mode. Just be careful with the Permadeath mode - it will delete your save slot if you die - only the most hardcore players should attempt it! In addition to the new planet, the following changes affect the full version:

• Added three new bosses to the arena.
• Added the ability to repair colony ships postgame (after the ending).

These changes affect the demo as well:

• Added difficulty settings to the options menu.
• Can export and delete saves right from the saves menu.
• Added a hammer item that builds blueprints.
• Added sound effects to familiars so they will occasionally make noise when idling (i.e., a cat will meow).
• Holding the shift key now reduces your speed to the starting value (walking). This is useful if youre zipping by with too many upgrades and need some precision, and can also be used with flying equipment.
• Many other minor improvements and bugfixes.

This more or less completes the single player experience of the game. There are a few loose ends well continue to add - like being able to build the science ship and entering the last incomplete postgame secret area, but these are not major game changers and may not be added until after the full launch. Our main goal from now until March 2020 is adding co-op multiplayer (and well have a few betas along the way). The full launch will come soon after multiplayer is added. Multiplayer in Aground will be the ability to invite other players into your game. Its completely optional and server-less, and will not affect the single player experience at all. When you invite people, they can help you fight enemies, gather resources and complete quests - the storyline will be the same, you will just be able to work together. I hope everyone is looking forward to multiplayer as much as I am! Were getting close to the full launch, but we will definitely continue to be active in the discord and post updates to the game even after launch! Thank you to everyone who joined us on this journey and trusted us in Early Access! P.S. Dont forget to join the social channels below if you havent already: [url=http://discord.gg/aground]Discord [url=https://www.reddit.com/r/aground]Reddit [url=https://twitter.com/fancyfishgames]Twitter Facebook

[ 2019-11-25 19:51:50 CET ] [ Original post ]

Halloween is one of our favorite seasons - and yet we didn't have time to add anything for Halloween this year, so instead I decided to set up my own little homage to Halloween!
You don't want to know how many black cats I had to spawn to get them into the gif - like with real black cats, they seem to have a mind of their own and like running away! While we didn't add anything Halloween-y this year, the past two years of Halloween updates are active (and both are featured in this gif). Also, the backer planet we added in the last update was very fitting for this season as well!
Doesn't it remind you of fall? We're already at work on the next backer planet and the final Quality of Life updates as we move closer to our full launch date! I hope you're looking forward to it - we've had a lot of good ideas from players, and we might be throwing in a few surprises of our own!

[ 2019-10-28 20:34:27 CET ] [ Original post ]

The new planet is called Unnature Sanctuary, and is now reachable in the star navigator. Its an optional side-quest planet, but check it out!
In other news, we recently added Minigames to the research lab, and Chase (our composer) released the official Aground Soundtrack! We also added Steam Leaderboards so you can see global high scores for the minigames and also who has mined the most tiles!
For Mac Players: You may have heard about the new app requirements for Catalina. The good news is that Aground is already 64-bit, so the game will run. The bad news is that it is not notarized, and I will not notarize it given the complexity of the process for every update and requirement of an apple developer ID which has a yearly fee. From what I have heard, this means that you may have to go through an additional step to bypass gatekeeper. Hopefully this doesnt cause too much trouble, and Ill continue to update the game on Mac as usual. In addition to the new planet, the following changes affect the full version:

• Some vehicles can now move and attack at the same time.
• Drone control can now be used while riding the mobile lab.
• Talon Copse can now modify most equipment.
• Cables and rails can now be placed on the same tile.
• Added a mini planet - Mercury. This is the last solar system planet that I plan to add before the full launch (gas giants have nowhere to land, and Venus is very dangerous).

These changes affect the demo as well:

• The starting quests now let you place the structures where you want to, and give you a blueprint for them when complete so you can re-arrange your base.
• Most vehicles and bots can now be packed up and deployed.
• Docks can now summon nearby boats.
• Trader will ship items from one island to another for a fee (pre bombardment/endings).
• Dragons can now land on water and never die by running out of fuel now.
• Mouse buttons can now be set in controls - this allows you to attack by clicking (but clicking on a GUI element will interact with it as normal).
• Surgery lab can now install vanity equipment.
• Crops can now be re-arranged in farms.
• Chests can be given labels.
• Hotkeys are now sensitive to parameters/modifiers.

This is about half of the quality of life updates planned for the game, and half of the backer planets - so look forward to the other half by the end of November! Enjoy, and as always, dont be shy if you have any questions or feedback - we are always happy to hear from our players. And dont forget to join the social channels below if you havent already: Discord Reddit Twitter Facebook

[ 2019-10-24 22:08:20 CET ] [ Original post ]

What happens after you beat the final boss? Whats the resolution to the story? This update answers those questions, along with some post game content and areas!
I dont want to spoil much - but after beating the final boss, try talking to all the NPCs - almost all of them have dialogue changes. You can also choose a homeworld if you talk to the CaptAIn. At this point, the questlines for magic and science path is more or less how it will be at the final launch, but we have the two backer planets, some additional post game content, the quality of life update (general improvements) and multiplayer still to come!
If you havent heard, Aground is now on the Discord Store as well! Definitely drop by our discord, were very active there if you want to chat - and you can now see announcements and buy the game directly from our discord server! Update 1.8.2 Includes the Following:

• Endgame dialogue/cutscenes for all NPCs.
• You can now choose a homeworld.
• Added a third tier hut upgrade for post-game science.
• Added more destroyed versions of structures for bombardment.
• Added one of the two post-game secret areas (the key to unlock it was added to the golemech factory, if you know where that is).
• Added 4 new bosses to the arena.
• The Exo Mech can now have a shield or light installed.
• Changed collision detection - it should now lag less with large moving objects (like in fleet battles).
• The equipment window now shows all status bars as numbers (scaling them down if necessary).
• Added new SFX.
• Many bug-fixes, tweaks and minor changes!

Enjoy, and as always, dont be shy if you have any questions or feedback - we are always happy to hear from our players. And dont forget to join the social channels below if you havent already: Discord Reddit Twitter Facebook

[ 2019-09-09 17:32:30 CET ] [ Original post ]

Its been a year since we launched Aground in Early Access, and weve come a long way. A year ago, the science path ended when you crafted your first fighter escort, and the magic path ended after the fight with the Old One.
Since then, weve added spacefaring and end game science path quests and items. And with the update we released today - 1.8.0 - weve finally finished end tier magic path quests and items. The journey isn't over yet, but weve come a long way and the end is in sight. The Full Launch is still on schedule for early next year alongside the console ports. Between now and then well be working on:

• Endings - Right now, you beat the final boss and it rolls to credits, and if you continue your game nothing changes. This update will have the aftermath, conclusion, resolution and some post game content (along with editing all the NPC dialogue).
• Backer Planets & Characters - There are 2 side-quest planets and some NPCs designed by kickstarter backers that will be added to the game. These planets will be available to all players.
• Quality of Life Update - Theres a growing list of suggested improvements, tweaks and minor changes that we want to do before the full launch.
• Co-op Multiplayer - Play with your friends & work together to complete quests (no PvP by default, but if youre okay with cheating and broken mods, you can enable it)!
• Console Ports - Aground will be released on the Playstation 4, Nintendo Switch, and XBox One.
• Translations - We will be translating Aground to several languages for the full launch, once the dialogue/text is more or less finalized.

And of course, the full launch isnt necessarily the end! We have many ideas for post-launch updates, including the Hybrid/Combined Path!
Update 1.8.0 Includes the Following:

• Added New NPCs - And the quests necessary for you to reach the final boss on the magic path.
• Added Spirit World - A strange new place where the elemental spirits come from.
  
• Added Mars - Why is Mars a new planet for the magic path? Only one way to find out!
• Book of Translation - A new spellbook that lets you talk with dragon ships, steal their secrets (and ships) to use against them!
• Tier 3 Spellbooks - You can now cast meteors like shown in this sneak peek gif:
  
• Added new enemies.
• Added endgame magic path equipment.
• Added new spaceships and vehicles.
• Many new cutscenes and the story up to (but not including) the magic path ending.
• Living vehicles can now have their modifier changed at the vine copse.
• There is now a coral farm that you get at the same place as the coral pen that can harvest all wyrm pens and coral pens.
• Added new SFX.
• Familiar efficiency now boosts the farming speed of that familiar when in pens.
• The book of shielding now costs less stamina the higher your spellcasting stat, and blocks all attacks (including spirit attacks).
• Many bug-fixes, tweaks and minor changes!

Thank you for supporting us throughout this year in Early Access, and I hope youre looking forward to all the future updates, the full launch, and beyond! Enjoy, and as always, dont be shy if you have any questions or feedback - we are always happy to hear from our players. And dont forget to join the social channels below if you havent already: Discord Reddit Twitter Facebook

[ 2019-08-08 14:31:03 CET ] [ Original post ]

Update 1.7.1 is now live! In this update, we finished the incomplete areas on the colony ship and did some overall improvements and bugfixes for the science path to end update!
The biggest additions are the cafeteria (pictured above) and the museum. These are fun optional areas that flesh out the colony ship and give you a few more options for the tough fights at the end of the game. Speaking of tough fights, a lot of people thought the final boss was too easy... so we made it harder steammocking ! We're a little behind now, so we updated the Early Access Roadmap, but we are still confident we'll make the March 2020 full release date. In other news, we're also on sale for 10% off in the Steam Summer Sale! If you haven't gotten the game yet, or have a friend who wants it, now is a great time to get it! We're back to working on the Magic Path to End update, which we hope to release by the end of July, so I hope you're looking forward to that! Enjoy, and as always, dont be shy if you have any questions or feedback - we are always happy to hear from our players. And dont forget to join the social channels below if you havent already: Discord Reddit Twitter Facebook

[ 2019-06-26 17:55:25 CET ] [ Original post ]

Update 1.7.0 is now live!! It includes the Science Path to the end of the game, which involves several new planets, many new quests, NPCs, enemies, and much more!
Were also very excited to announce that we have partnered with Whitethorn Digital to bring Aground to the Nintendo Switch, PS4 and XBox One! The console ports will release alongside the full launch in early 2020. Our console port announcement was included in this years Kinda Funny Showcase at E3, which you can watch here: https://youtu.be/Ayw3J7sxEkQ Finally, Aground will be at the MIX at E3 this Wednesday June 12th, at 7PM - if youre going to be there, please look for us and say hello!
The full changelog for this update is as follows:

• Added a new star system and planet on the Science Path where you can meet other human survivors.
• Added the Enemy Headquarters, where you can fight the final boss!
• Added many new enemies to go with the new planets.
• Added fleet battles - where NPC spaceships can fight alongside you!
• Added endgame science path equipment - both cyborg and regular.
• Added new spaceships and vehicles.
• Many new cutscenes and the story up to (but not including) the science path ending.
• Many bug-fixes, tweaks and minor changes!

I hope youre as excited as we are - this is quite the milestone update (science path to end), but theres still a lot to go (magic path, backer planets, co-op multiplayer)! Thank you for following and supporting us on this ambitious journey to the stars and beyond.
Enjoy, and as always, dont be shy if you have any questions or feedback - we are always happy to hear from our players. And dont forget to join the social channels below if you havent already: Discord Reddit Twitter Facebook

[ 2019-06-11 00:39:24 CET ] [ Original post ]

If you've been following the Early Access Roadmap, then you're probably aware that we were planning on posting an update with the second to last planet around now. However, The last two planets are strongly linked, so we decided to do both planets in one BIG update at the end of this month, as the current planet felt incomplete alone.
A sneak peek gif of one of the upcoming spellbooks for the next update. So, what's this update? This update is mainly small improvements and bugfixes - as making players wait for some of the bugs in 1.6.1 until the end of May seemed too long (the biggest bug being that if you invited an NPC aboard the mobile lab in person instead of via com device - including the professor when the lab is first created, they end up in a weird place and not on the mobile lab). The professor should automatically be aboard the lab the next time you enter it, and for the other NPCs, simply call them with the com device to get them to transfer on board. There is also one new quest, on the mobile lab, from the professor. This ends pretty quickly, giving you just a hint of the new planet before going to credits. There's a lot of new items/assets for the new planet in this build, but you cannot get there without cheats (and I recommend you don't mess with it unless you're using a cheat/backed up save). I hope you enjoy, and are looking forward to the end of this month!

[ 2019-05-02 21:33:21 CET ] [ Original post ]

The main purpose of this update is to fix some major bugs/memory leaks that made the game unstable and crash more often. This version should be a lot more stable and even a little faster, but I also added the following extras:

• You can now board enemy spaceships and defeat them from the inside! This gives you extra loot now... and will have more purposes later...
• Added vanity slots to equipment - you can now change your appearance without changing your actual equipment.
• Added new hairstyles and character customization options. You can select one from an existing save at the surgery lab.
• Added a few new familiar modifiers to the vine copse.

That's all for this minor update, but let me know if you have any issues or crashes! If not, I'll be back to working on the next planet!

[ 2019-03-22 19:16:53 CET ] [ Original post ]

The first new major planet is in, and its an exciting one! We think youll be very curious to see what happened to this familiar planet - along with new NPCs, quests, and features. This planet focuses entirely on the science path - but dont worry, we have plans for the magic path too! This planet took a little longer than we would have liked, so we adjusted the roadmap, but I think youll agree it was worth it. Were getting closer to the end of the game in terms of content, but we have lots of additional updates planned before we leave Early Access (including the highly requested multiplayer update).
The full changelog for this update is as follows:

• Added a new star system + major planet to the game! This also includes a new music track!
  
• Added drones, a new kind of vehicle that can be piloted remotely.
  
• Added a whole new spaceship and its a big one (no spoilers, it should be obvious if you do all the new quests).
• Added new quests, NPCs, items, crafting, structures and a research lab. No spoilers, but I will tell you a com device helps.
• Teleportals can now be renamed, and are sorted by name. You can organize them by using special characters/numbers before the name, and use this to make a note about important parts of islands. Teleportals are now also locked to the star system they were built in, so the list will only show teleportals in that star system.
• Added an FTL jump animation for vehicles.
  
• Placing items in vehicle interiors (workbenches, furnaces, etc) can now take items directly from the vehicles storage.

The following changes affect the demo as well:

• When you discover an item for the first time, the game now tells you! It doesnt know about items you already discovered in old saves that arent in your storehouse or inventory, so it might come up a lot when you first continue an old save, but eventually it will work as intended.
• Crops and pens can now function without a barn (and be placed without a barn). The barn structure is now just a convenience, where you can harvest them all at once.
• Added many new sound effects, both to the demo and the full version. Well be adding more in the next few updates, fleshing out the sounds for all the attacks, enemies and items.
• Added a gameplay option to make steel walkways un-mineable (so you dont mine them by accident). Just toggle the option to make them mineable again when you want to change/move/collect them.
• Added a gameplay option to hide blueprints from the All tab in your inventory. A lot of people complained that blueprints cluttered the inventory and could not be removed - well now they can be hidden, unless you intentionally go to the blueprints tab.
• For people playing on the keyboard, shift+Z now moves the current object/vehicle to the back. This is useful if you have two large vehicles on top of each other.
• Many bug-fixes, tweaks and minor changes!

Enjoy, and as always, dont be shy if you have any questions or feedback - we are always happy to hear from our players. And dont forget to join the social channels below if you havent already: Discord Reddit Twitter Facebook

[ 2019-03-05 23:09:56 CET ] [ Original post ]

Trading cards were just added to Aground! You should automatically get trading cards already based on how long you've been playing the game! Also, make sure to check the background/emote descriptions, as they might reveal a little more about the Aground universe (minor spoilers)! You can see one of the backgrounds on my profile page: https://steamcommunity.com/id/david_maletz/

[ 2019-01-20 22:26:01 CET ] [ Original post ]

Update 1.5.5 brings a lot of new features, and some new content (including a small dwarf planet), and I'm very excited for it as it's the backbone for what will be the final stage of the game - travelling between planets! Spacefaring has always been one of my goals in Aground - I wanted you to be able to eventually build up to travelling between planets, but start the game having no idea that was even possible.
I also set up a Patreon if you want to support my work! It might not seem like much, but every dollar counts! The full changelog for this update is as follows:

• Added Orbit and the ability to travel between planets.
  
• Added a new planet.
• You can now build space stations in orbit.
  
• Added underground structures (and an event that will make them very useful).
  
• Added ladders and walkways for stacking surface structures.
  
• Added several new songs! Here's a preview of Chase composing one of them: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_D2F18Hso4

The following changes affect the demo as well:

• Cables and rails can now be placed vertically.
• Structures now operate even when away from the island.
• Blueprint error guides (they visually show you what is blocking the structure from being built).
• Combat update! I tweaked how combat works yet again - it is now easier to defeat enemies without taking any damage (by dodging), but also more dangerous to blindly mash the attack key as they will knock you back out of range.
• 4 more hotkeys have been added by popular demand.
• Miner now gives a quest about minecarts.
• Builder will explain sticky items when you build the storehouse, and sticky items now are placed above others in the inventory.

Enjoy, and as always, dont be shy if you have any questions or feedback - we are always happy to hear from our players. And dont forget to join the social channels below if you havent already: Discord Reddit Twitter Facebook

[ 2019-01-08 21:54:26 CET ] [ Original post ]

Update 1.5.1 is here, and its a big one!! You can now follow the magic path all the way through many new quests and areas, right up to launching into space! This means that the entire starting planet is now complete, besides a few side quests and optional features we still want to add.
Alongside this major update to the game, we have a very exciting new trailer to share with you! Made by the talented M. Joshua and scored by our very own Chase Bethea, we are thrilled with how it came out! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1SV8Q_daSs What do you think? We hope you love it as much as we do! In other news, back in late August/early September we showcased Aground at PAX West, which was an amazing experience. We were a part of the Indie Megabooth, and had a very steady crowd of gamers, press, and industry professionals stopping by to chat and try out the game. Pictures from the event are here (featuring our Miner and Alchemist cosplays!): https://www.flickr.com/photos/166774367@N06/sets/72157695274883630/ .
A huge thank you to everyone who came by at PAX, especially the awesome streamers and Youtubers we met, who have released so many great videos which have helped to spread the word about the game - including SplatterCatGaming, Wanderbots, RufioGuy, and many others!
Thank you to everyone who reviewed Aground! Each review helps potential players learn about the game, and we need 50 to reach "Very Positive" on Steam - so if you haven't yet, please take a minute to give us a review, we really appreciate it.
The full changelog for this update is as follows:

• Added a new magic island with new bosses, enemies, NPCs, sub-areas and structures. Rest in the purple hut after defeating the Old One to start these quests (and check out the place the Old One was defeated).
• Added many new familiars and new types of nets to catch them.
• Added spellbooks and a spellcasting skill.
• Added a magic spaceship equivalent, and the quests to get it.
• You can now mine the second layer of magic island (although we are still planning on adding caves there later).

The following changes affect the demo as well:

• Added an indicator when the smelter/kitchen/pen/farm have items ready.
• Allowed some weapons/items to work underwater.
• Added spider familiar.
• Some magic structures can now be uprooted and moved.
• You can now collect items while riding the dragon (like helium sacs)
• You can now aim dragonfire manually while riding a dragon by using up/down while holding attack.
• Many smaller fixes and improvements, including color changes to the background art.

For Modders:

• Added tag to the mod metadata. This works just like (forcing the labelled mod to load first), but wont cause the mod to fail to load if the labelled mod is missing.
• Added the evalXml function. This parses the passed argument string as xml and then runs it after the current action block completes. Useful for dynamic xml generation.
• Added setGlobal and getGlobal, to manage global variables that can be used between saves and in different scopes. These are not saved, and clear when the game is restarted (or you set them to null).
• Added setPlayer and changePlayer functions. setPlayer changes the player to an already created player object, and changePlayer changes the player to a new object with the passed id. These are dangerous functions.

Enjoy, and as always, dont be shy if you have any questions or feedback - we are always happy to hear from our players. And dont forget to join the social channels below if you havent already: Discord Reddit Twitter Facebook

[ 2018-10-23 21:21:23 CET ] [ Original post ]

When we released the early access version with update 1.4.0, you could go all the way to building a spaceship like we promised, but many things we wanted to add before you left the planet (higher tech upgrades, power cores) didn’t make it in. So, for our first update in Early Access, we added a new quest on the Science Path (talk to the Fisherman), with new enemies, equipment, upgrades and more!
Headshot! If you haven’t seen it yet, we’ve also added a roadmap which details all our plans for Early Access Updates up through the full release. We will be working on the magic path to space next. You can expect it to be complete by the end of September. But first, we’ll be heading off to PAX West in Seattle to show off the game! If you’re going to be there, be sure to stop by at booth 663 (with the Indie Megabooth)! There will be goodies to be had! And Aground cosplay!
Not the nicest addition to Sunset Haven... I don’t want to spoil everything this update adds, but there are many new items including power cables (for connecting generators to buildings), new blueprints, higher tech upgrades, a new skill, a new vehicle, craftable robot NPCs and many tweaks and minor improvements (including the ability to change your appearance at the surgery lab). As mentioned above, be sure to talk to the Fisherman, and check out the factory for new stuff!
There are still more things we wanted to add for the science path (like starting island upgrades, which you can see in the above gif), but we needed to prepare for PAX. We might post it with a bugfix update after PAX, but we also want to get cracking on the magic path update! Wish us luck at PAX - we'll be sure to take lots of pics for those who can't make it. P.S. You didn’t miss update 1.4.1, that was a beta only update! But if you’re playing on Windows and you want access to the Beta, you can do so by following this guide: https://steamcommunity.com/app/876650/discussions/0/1734336452582675296/

[ 2018-08-29 01:31:19 CET ] [ Original post ]

The early access version of Aground is now available! Join us on Discord, Reddit, Facebook or Twitter today for some launch day festivities!
It has been a wild ride getting to this point - from the initial prototype over a year ago, an underwhelming reception to the early versions, to an incredibly enthusiastic response to the browser version, an amazing crowdfunding campaign, and update after update of new content and improvements. And - hopefully - this is just the beginning of Aground’s story!
The early access version includes new quests, vehicles, enemies and areas not in the demo version. And we still have a ton of exciting content left to add before the game is complete. Update 1.4.0 is now Live!
This update includes lots of new content for the early access version (see above), but we also included an update to the free version too! This update includes swimming and many small improvements and tweaks to the game. As a big thank you to Armor Games, Kongregate and Newgrounds who helped us get to this point, we also added a few secrets and specials on those sites - can you find them all? --------- I hope you enjoy the early access version and demo updates! And if you played the game, help show your support by writing a review or posting a screenshot! I hope you’re looking forward to the magic path update, which will include the magic path between the demo and outer space!

[ 2018-08-09 00:37:13 CET ] [ Original post ]