We are probably breaking some unwritten rules of Steam with this post. But who cares if all rules in the world are already broken?
On February 24. The Russian army, rushed by a psychopathic dictator, began the full-scale war against the independent and democratic republic of Ukraine. Many developers of this game are Ukrainians. Some of them are in immediate danger, some of them are safe, but have relatives in the war zone. We had to put our development on hold some time ago due to financial problems, but we planned to return to this game as soon as our problems were figured out. It is extremely difficult to make any plans now. We wish strength to the people of Ukraine. We wish them to live, to protect themselves and their loved ones. And for those who fight, we wish to impose well-deserved death, fear and devastation among the invaders. We call on all citizens of Russia and Belarus. It is not enough to say "No War". It is time for radical acts of disobedience. It is time for a rebellion. It is time for a revolution. It is time for tyrannicide. The only decent thing you can do is to bring the war back to the homes of those who started it. You got the "Kill The Police" badge in our game? Imagine how cool will it be to get one in real life. If you are from any other country, you can support Ukrainian Army or humanitarian NGOs. And one more important thing: you can put pressure on your governments to help Ukraine not just by imposing sanctions but also by protecting our sky against Russian planes and rockets. Our soldiers will do the rest. Our game has always been political, even if this has not been articulated explicitly. It's a game about how the same character can end up on different sides of a conflict, a game about how the difference between enemies can be very subtle, and the difference between allies can be huge. But now everything is very simple. There is no difficult choice between two evils. Putin's Russia and its enablers are evils far worse than all unnamed Lovecraftian horrors put together. Because the abomination from Kremlin is real, and it has been poisoning our world by lies and death for years. It is finally time to put a stake through its chest. If our statement gets deleted from Steam for any reason, we have a copy on our site. P.S. If anybody wants to blame the victims, ask us to be "apolitical" or make any comments repeating Kremlin propaganda tropes, please, don't. Just delete our game and never return.

We updated the game's save system and fixed some visual bugs. Some players reported a rare bug, which may occur under Windows if you damage your save-files. If you accidentally press Alt-F4 or restart your computer during saving, it may cause a fatal low-level error when you try to load the broken saves: "BulkData compressed header read error. This package may be corrupt!" The easiest way to solve this, ts to delete your save files. Just use script "purgeBrokenSaves.bat", which is located in your game directory. If you use Steam Cloud, don't forget to choose the local version. And don't forget the Halloween surprise is coming!

First (but not last!) summer update.

• We updated the French localization!
• The ingredient lines on the map now come in three colors: the darkest for the ingredients that you already have, brighter for the new ingredients, and the brightest for the ingredients you need for the current ritual.
• We improved the algorithm of event occurrence in locations, and fixed a bug that occasionally prevented the intertexts from appearing.

• We have fixed vulnerability-based attacks by NPC (previously, they did not cause damage, which made the hunters, who should be the most dangerous enemies, almost powerless, sorry about that).
• We made some visual and text-related improvements to the combat and character screen.
• Vampire's ability can now save you from being bedridden in combat. Even your health dropped to zero, you still might have a slight chance to recover by drinking blood.

Bugfix: Combat Screen Bug, which caused the combat to freeze while retreating fixed Multiplayer "black map" bug fixed Improvements: Madame Mandilip Dolls' combat animation improved Ukrainian localization updated

Patch notes: Fixed:

• permanent death in Halloween and Walpurgis Night modes, now it works for real
• no "October" in spring anymore
• multiplayer settings issues

Walpurgis Night is quite similar to Halloween in many ways; in fact, it mirrors it. It is no coincidence that we scheduled a major upgrade of graphics and gameplay on this date. Main innovations:

• We improved the tutorial. As requested by numerous players, we added pop-ups that appear as the game progresses (this can be turned off with a single click if needed).
• We have added multi-round battles, a more promising mode in terms of tactics and planning. If you prefer classic, fast, single-round combats, you can disable the multi-round option in the settings. But we highly recommend trying the new approach. Note that the change in combat mode also impacts the balance and the stats of characters and NPCs.
• You can play the classic game in two modes now: Halloween and Walpurgis Night. The difference is mainly visual. heck out the spring decorations!
  
• Permanent Death mode is also available in the classic game. We highly recommend trying it for a more challenging and interesting playthrough.
• One gate sigil becomes unlocked as the final ritual begins, depending on the balance between Changers and Keepers. The balance is determined by the outcomes of shared events and high-level rituals (above the eighth).
• The presence of permanent death opens up new opportunities to win the game. For example, you can kill all enemies before the final ritual.
• We added an entirely new game mechanic: Gods' Emanations. Each turn, you can choose an emanation of one of the previously summoned deities, which will give you specific gameplay bonuses.
• Detailed hints on the alchemy screen can be disabled, making creating essences more challenging and exciting.
• In combat with an NPC, the monster now strikes first.
• We improved poisons and curses; now they can be found in locations as well as bought in the shop.
• Character information screen was significantly improved, redesigned and extended. It makes sense to visit it more often. On the same screen, you can now choose divine emanations.
  
• Narrative and visual improvements in Dream-Quest mode and, accordingly, in the demo version. Nyarlathotep as the guide was replaced by the more fitting Hypnos, and the final scene was improved as well.
• Graphic improvements throughout the game.
• UI/UX improved, both visually and functionally.
• Insanity side-effects improved, especially on the Alchemy screen
• We have fixed numerous bugs in single-player and multiplayer.
• Credits screen added.

Improvements - For hardcore players: it is now possible to collect up to 15 Items and up to 12 Minions simultaneously due to the latest UI optimization. Yes, we have added scrollbar support. - Multiplayer initialization is now divided into two different steps; it will let you avoid many bugs and inconveniences.
Fixes - We fixed a bug, which prevented the Tutorial screen from being used during the game - Mac Multiplayer problem was partially fixed, you can create and join multiplayer sessions again, but the second attempt to create a session may result in the game exit. It happens due to a specific Steam/Unreal Engine issue, which occurred after one of the latest Steam updates exclusively on Mac. We are searching for a solution to this problem as well. - Multiplatform Multiplayer (between Windows and Linux, Windows and MacOS, etc) finally works!

We have added some minor improvements and bugfixes.
Improvements

• Animations during ingredient gathering.
• The "Loading" screen was improved.
• Retro effect improved. From now on, the moderate retro effect is enabled by default. it can be disabled in settings

• Some cemetery and town locations were not available; it is fixed now
• Some flaws in log fixed
• The Player's home is randomized again
• Some minor sound fixes

We are happy to present the first spring update of our game! This time, we concentrated mostly on improving the visuals and the interface. - New combat screen. The interface is more user-friendly, the attacks are demonstrated with illustrative visual effects. The bug of the disappearing start combat button was fixed.
- New visuals of the final ritual. We removed the board from the centre to avoid duplicating information, so now the entire field is the board. Also, we improved displaying of the numbers: the numbers rolled by the player during the last turn are visually separated from the previous ones.
- Updated appearance and logic of the timer. Now the combat timer is separated from the main timer of the turn, and every episode of the fight has its own time count. - The bonus 8, 9, 10 rituals in the Halloween mode (after the invocation of Azathoth) are now visually different. Nyarlathotep has multiple faces. These rituals also became much more difficult, now they all require six essences and a sacrifice. But they are worth it. - Leaves fall in autumn now, and the winter snowfall increases as you play. - Play of light, dust specks, and clouds now jazz up the static backgrounds without distracting from the main thing. Apart from that, we have done a lot of inner structural work. You will be able to check it out after we release the upcoming major update, codename "Walpurgis Night".

Finally, the long-promised PvP combat is ready! You can attack other players from now on. In the Halloween mode, you gain this ability after finishing the 4th ritual. In the Freezing Moon mode, you have this ability from the beginning.
During your turn, move your mouse over another player's home. There will be a Say button, and if the ability is unlocked, the Attack button as well. Be careful, attacking other players is not the best way to win: you might fight your secret ally. Besides, the enemy can strike back. There also are some minor improvements to the interface and AI, some rebalancing and some bugfixes.

• Freezing Moon is now available in multiplayer! Try it out. It is fast and engaging, a perfect mode for short multiplayer sessions.
• Some multiplayer bugs were fixed.
• Some bugs with Mandilip's Dolls were fixed.
• The bug with the Witch's ability was fixed.
• The Monk's ability was tuned.
• Zhong Kui ability rebalanced. Now it gives you 1/2 of enemy's attack (it became too overpowering when used against other players).
• Menu tuning.

Finally, we did it, Mac version of the game is playable via Steam!
Steam Overlay may not be visible yet (we work on this issue), but all the important Steam-related features (Multiplayer Matchmaking and Achievements) should work well. Please, tell us if you encounter any problems running the game. Good luck staying alive this winter!

- Fixed multiple minor bugs in the user interface - Fixed minor bugs in "Dream-Quest" mode - Dream Quest now can be finished before 16 night - Localizations were updated - Some internal changes/code refactoring needed More bigger updates coming soon!

We are happy to present you a new game mode. Freezing Moon is faster, more intensive and challenging than the original game.
Before the blind, omnipotent, and insane Chaos reigned in the Universe, there was only the Absolute Cold. Eternal stasis, adverse to all aspects of life, Absolute Order and Absolute Nothing. A spark of Chaos disrupted the perfect harmony of Absolute Cold, and Nothing became Something. Something indescribably cold, driven by the hate not just of Life but of Being at large. You feel it around you and inside you. Once again, the Changers and the Keepers will decide the world's fate. Should you try to banish the eternal frost by embracing the Chaotic ways of Eldritch Gods or accept it as natural and become one with the cold, the only true God?

• The shop and sacrifices are available from the beginning.
• All rituals require three essences or a sacrifice.
• Players lose physical and mental health every night, except those who finished a ritual the night before.
• The more players protect themselves with a ritual the more others will suffer.
• Losing all Body points for the second time brings permanent death.
• There are no time limits, the game can be endless. But it won't because everyone will die quickly.
• There is no Final ritual. The team that has survivors wins.

• For example, the Snake minion is much more useful now, and alchemy hints are more clever.
• Some Multiplayer bugs fixed.
• AI is much more intelligent now and does not cheat with alchemy anymore.
• Bedridden players do not participate in the Shared Events.
• New achievements added, more to come

• PvP combat. We wanted to release it sooner, but it needs more polishing.
• Multiplayer for Freezing Moon.
• Mac port. It is in Beta now, there are some potentially game-breaking compatibility issues, but they will be fixed.
• Difficulty settings. Refactoring of the whole gameplay settings section.
• Locked bonus content. Did you ever think about strange Nyarlothotep invocations in the original game, where the player was told to see the hidden truth about the Game and about the world itself? It was not just a flavour. Finishing those extremely difficult rituals will really give you access to some cool bonuses (for example, early concept art).

We just fixed the game-breaking bug, which caused the dice not to appear during the Final Ritual. We are very sorry about the frustration you could have encountered. It is officially over, just let's give the game another chance!

The main update for today: we finally added an in-game tutorial. It will be useful if you are looking for some descriptions and explanations in the world of indescribable and unexplainable horrors. We will soon translate the tutorial into all languages available in the game. We fixed some visual bugs as well. Mac build still has some problems, but it is already available for users with beta-access, we hope to release it to the public very soon. We are working on the upcoming winter update, stay tuned!

We happily announce the French localization of our game! We are working mostly on large-scale developments and the tutorial, which will be introduced later, but still delivered some smaller alterations and bugfixes:

• Changed the look of dice in the fight screen and the final ritual
• Fixed the dice re-roll bug in multiplayer
• Fixed some visual loose ends and performance issues
• Edited the Russian localization
• Added a direct link to the bug report form; moved the Discord link to the menu.

As promised, we have delivered a new game update. Finally, we added artefacts to the game. You can receive them upon completion of the fifth ritual. Seth's Sickle substantially improves the efficiency of sacrifices; Bottomless Chalice protects you from poisons and curses; Pickman's Palette improves your relations with ghouls; The Staff of The Dead helps you subdue zombies; Erlking's Staff lets you win the favour of forest spirits and protect you from the horrors of the Hollow; Trickster's Ring enables you to deceive other players, doing them harm on someone else's behalf. We also fixed some visual and technical bugs and added new location backgrounds. More changes are coming! We have changed our initial updates order a little bit. Currently, our biggest priority will be an in-game tutorial.

Today is Sunday, but there is no rest for the wicked. Over the last few days, we fixed several bugs, mostly achievement-related. Now you can finally get your achievements "Hunt the Hunters" and "Enemy of the Law". Also, we fixed an issue with incorrect God-achievements in Dream Quest (training) mode (you won't get the God achievements in Dream-Quest now), as well as the inability to get the All Players achievement (you will have to replay the game as Monk and Zhong Kui to get it, sorry). We apologize for the possible frustration caused by false/unreachable achievements. We fixed some minor visual bugs as well. And now to the good part, to the new mechanics! In recent days we did a lot of work to improve Madame Mandilip with her Devil Dolls, the Abraham Merrit-inspired character. Now the dolls are balanced much better. - The Dolls have less impact on Combat Hexagram, but each doll adds an extra attack die. So, it finally pays off to create as many dolls as possible. - You can send dolls to attack other players. You will lose the doll, but it will deal significant damage.

We finally added to the game the ability to communicate with other players. You can exchange threats, apologize, compliment other players, and ask for help. The active vocabulary of our characters will expand over time.

• Small changes introduced to the interface, some minor bugs fixed.
• Mechanics of curses changed; poisons added.
• A curse no longer causes direct harm to the victim; instead of this, the cursed player will face unlucky events for several turns.
• There are poisons now. Poisons deal damage during three turns.
• From now on, you have a choice between three items in the shop.

Reviewed balance and mechanics:

• The overpower that allowed the cat (The Beast) to bring new minions daily was removed.
• The monsters' Mind/Will parameter is now correlated to your stats. It is harder to subdue a monster if a stat that is important to it is low. This stat is Standing for police and citizens, Body for cemetery dwellers, and Mind for forest spirits and Shub-Niggurath's Young.
• The mechanics of sacrifices was changed. Sacrifices do not replace the ingredients in the ritual anymore and do not fill the empty slots; the only slot for sacrifice is in the centre of the board. A minion put there replaces three essences (or even six essences, if you have an artefact for that).

• problems with disappearing interface fixed;
• multiplayer bugs fixed;
• problems with timer in some locations fixed.

• The host starts the game
• All clients connect
• The host presses "Start the game" button
• The game begins for everybody.

For some players the game may have not been playable for about an hour, we are sorry. Just download the latest version, please. Meanwhile, there were some improvements made to the multiplayer: from now on you can create sessions with custom names and non-latin characters will be displayed correctly. More improvements are on the way!

Only for a short time: we created special achievements to celebrate Halloween and the Full Moon. They can be obtained only during a short time period. Just start the game during Halloween to receive the Halloween achievement, and hold on till the Final Ritual to get the Full Moon achievement. Remember, you will have to wait till 2039 for the next Full Moon on Halloween, so don't be late!

We were too optimistic when we thought that our sleepless nights are over. Almost 18 hours of non-stop work, and we fixed some disturbing bugs and even implemented some new features. Bugfixes: - Potentially game-breaking Final Ritual bug in Multiplayer fixed. - "Unusable essences" bug fixed (this bug was encountered by players using Russian or Chinese localizations) - Some localization bugs fixed (but work is still going on) New Features: - Retro mode effect also works in menus. - You can now return ingredients from the ritual board to inventory by clicking on them - New special "Halloween" and "Blue Moon on Halloween" achievements. Halloween will return next year as well, but for the next Blue Moon on Halloween, you will have to wait till 2039! So, don't be late!

Thank you for your reports! A nasty bug, which prevented you from sacrificing your minions was fixed, you can do it now again. Just remember, not every minion fits for a sacrifice, they should be alive. E.g. living corpses or Madame Mandilip's dolls can not be sacrificed by design.
Please, report your bugs and concerns here: https://forms.gle/qpcneQh1D6ynbW9T8

This is an insane year, for our team as well as for the entire world. But we are finally ready to release the game. We spent the past weeks in a terrible crunch to finish the game in time.
Maybe after the release, we will indulge in sleeping for more than 4 hours at a time (someone, though, is laughing in somebody else's voice right now, saying, "I will never need sleep anymore") but our work is far from completion. We ask you to be understanding of possible bugs and flaws: sometimes, developers postpone releases for months for the sake of refining, but we could not afford this luxury. It was crucial to finish before the end of October. It's not just the game being related to Halloween; a full moon on Halloween happens only several times per century, and we could not miss the date. So, the release was in many ways determined not by marketing calculations, but by occult symbolism. Here are the tasks we are going to undertake over the next few weeks (apart from the obvious polishing, bug fixing and editing):

• Adding credits with the names of all our Kickstarter backers, adding the names of some of the backers to the locations.
• Linux and Mac versions (end of October - early November)
• Further localization. First of all, we are planning to finish the Ukrainian version (early to mid-November), but there will be other languages, announced separately.
• Adding new artefacts (three artefacts will be added early to mid-November; more will be introduced later)
• Artbook (early November)
• New locations backgrounds (early to mid-November)
• New achievements (November)
• Basic communication between characters (early to mid-November)
• Introducing hidden objects-style interactive elements at locations (mid- to late November)
• Open public statistics of players' achievements (late November)
• Duels between characters (early December)
• New game mode Advents Calendar. Prepare for otherwordly guests on Yuletide and don't forget to celebrate the winter solstice properly (preview: early December; release: late December)

Last days before the release! Debugging, new content and fine-tuning of the existing mechanics happen every minute. We are working 24/7. Like the games Mad Monk, we entered a special relationship with the god Hypnos and learned all the great things about sleep deprivation.
If we dont reply to all your comments, it doesnt mean they are not important to us. We note everything you say and introduce revisions to the game. Before the release, we decided to update the free demo as well. Beta-testers already know these improvements from the main game, now they are available for demo players as well. Whats new? - updated map, now the ingredients in the locations are shown as a hexagram.; - the number of ingredients in the locations can be set up in the settings; - the Infamous status can lead to an encounter with the hunters - adjusted balance of monsters/artefacts/abilities - the difficulty of the rituals will increase during the game New demo version may be incompatible to the old saves, sorry for that. Like before, there are only three characters available in the demo version. There are also a lot of bugfixes for the beta version. - multiplayer should work for now. - crash during loading of save files was fixed. - a lot of UI-related bugs were fixed

Were so happy to be part of Steam Digital Tabletop festival. Board games and the joy of playing with close ones was always the source of inspiration for Octobear Knight Games studio. Sometimes its hard to get together as a group especially now, but digital all brings us together, no matter the distance. We hope youll enjoy our demo and create nice, albeit spooky!, memories with your friends! And see you on October 28th for release :)

The Full Moon of Halloween is coming and bringing along a possibility for the dreadful Old Ones to return to our world. Which means its time to stop glooming and start partying like theres no tomorrow. To stir up the festive spirit, we announce a giveaway on Facebook and Twitter: the lucky ones will receive their gifts on All Hallows Eve!
Visit our website to learn more and to participate. And don't forget to wishlist!

Yesterday some players could encounter problems with AI. The game could freeze during the AI turn. The game-breaking bug was fixed, sorry for the inconvenience. The Monk ability now works as intended. You will be able to reflect the damage dealt by your enemies in the form of a "madness" counter-attack.

During Steam Festival developers and streamers will stream their October Night Games experiences. Leave your feedback and don't forget to wishlist the game on Steam!

Hey Steam users! In our cosmic horror digital board game October Night Games, you play as cultists either trying to save the world or serve it up to the Great Old Ones. Youll be brewing potions, scouring the town for infernal ingredients and conducting magic rituals to summon inscrutable entities to your aid. Meanwhile, youll need to keep suspicious town folks and creeping monsters at bay. Sounds dastardly evil! A game of many parts, October Night Games combines a procedurally generated narrative with strategy, social deduction, combat and occult puzzles. You can play solo with AI, or online with up to five friends. During our successful Kickstarter campaign last month we launched a demo here on Steam and have been busy ever since updating it with new features, bug fixes, brand new familiars, and visual improvements. If youve not yet proved your worth to participate in the Halloween full moon ritual, now is the time! The full game launches on October 28th, so dont forget to add us to your wishlist!

Will this shady Aristocrat be able to complete the Dream Quest? He has to deal not only with the Lovecraftian horrors but also with his own bloodthirst.

A full-screen map where you can see what happens to other players, changes to the background of the home location, improved transitions between background tracks and sound effects. And the most important update: hints on mouse hover! The complicated game mechanics that confused the gamers before (fight, alchemy, deduction) are now easier to understand. If you have already mastered the game and dont need the hints anymore, just turn them off in the settings. We apologize if your old save files do not open or open with errors. Please finish the game you are playing before updating; taking into account that game sessions are rather short, this shouldnt pose a problem.

Meanwhile, we continue the development and introduce some changes to the public version of the game. The most important new features are:

• Unique abilities of the familiars. The dog alerts you about danger, the cat steals for you when you are shopping, and the owl gives recommendations on alchemy that make the preparation of essences more effective.
• The final screen was improved; closing texts became more readable.
• Adding pure alchemical essences to the ritual now gives you additional bonuses that improve your characters stats.
• Some visual improvements, in particular, in the shop location.

We continue to actively work on the game, and your demo reviews are very helpful in that. To make sure that our backers (and future players) understand what we are working on, we decided to outline the tasks we are currently working on. Do you have any more questions or ideas about how to make the game better? Do not hesitate to ask! First, the mechanics you could have seen in the demo:

• Implementation of unique abilities for every familiar. The familiars abilities will be manifested mostly through the hints, but they will significantly influence the gameplay. For instance, the dog will warn you about possible dangers at locations, while the owl will give you advice on alchemic formulas (and dont forget that we have three more familiars waiting in the wings).
• Context help on mouse hover. Introduction of context help will provide the answers to the many questions you had when you encountered complicated mechanics (such as fight, social deduction and alchemy). If you prefer the path of discovery, you will be able to turn it off. We hope that context help will appear in our second demo, which will be launched soon before the release on 7 October, at Steam Game Festival: Autumn Edition.
• An illustrated in-game manual. If you want something beyond context help and your intuition, there will be an extensive text for you to read. We are planning to have it by Steam Game Festival.
• New look for Wicked Things. We hope to jazz up that circus shop soon! Its updated version will be available in the demo within the next few days.
  
• New events and statuses are being written (some of them will be available in later demo versions, some only in the full game).
• An improved system of saving, added end game statistic screen, retrospective viewing of game results, and sharing the results in social networks. We will definitely include these in the Steam Game Festival demo but will try to do this earlier.
• We are remaking music and special effects, implementing seamless transitions with FMOD. Remember, we promised that the music would sound like in a real silent movie? We will not break that promise!
• The Role Artefacts will find their use in the gameplay.

• Beta version will be available soon after the end of the Kickstarter campaign. We remind that we are going to update the game after the final release and the owners of the beta will be the first to try these future updates.
• The final ritual on Halloween. The culmination of the entire game should be really impressive. New items are going to be added, including the artefacts: especially powerful items that you can receive as a gift from the gods.
• Multiplayer. One of the most ambitious and complex tasks, but we will finish it by the release. Lots of new backgrounds for the town, hollow and cemetery are waiting for the release.
• We will add some new unique effects from performing the lesser rituals (in Dream-Quest they only give you the Insight Mirror).
• New deities, not featured in the demo will join the pantheon.
  
• Localisation. We continue to work on the text, but the team of localisers is ready, so if you prefer your mother tongue to English, we will try to give you the opportunity to play in it. Zhong Kui will reveal his demonic abilities. The legendary character is ready; all is left is bringing him to life!
• Soundtrack. People buying the game on Steam (and Kickstarter backers) will get access to a unique version of the soundtrack with bonus tracks, which you will not find on streaming services.
• Artbook. We are preparing the layout, and hope that well be able to present it in October.

• Seasonal updates. The first of them, Cold Moon, will have a new play mode and is scheduled on the winter solstice of 21 December.
• New characters and familiars. The order of their appearance and the priorities will be discussed with our players.
• New locations are planned, including the Port, where Deep Ones worship Father Dagon and Mother Hydra.
• New game mode with a large map which you will be able to explore in unfathomable quests for unimaginable lands keeping ineffable secrets.

We fixed some minor bugs and issues in the demo: Fix: False choices were displayed on the Deduction Board Fix: Sometimes you needed multiple clicks to close the Shared Event Screen Fix: mouse Hardware cursor was not precise on some computers Improvement: location positions and scales were revised Bigger improvements are ahead!