Betrayer Update #2 Released!

[Villager]

The next playable area is almost ready, but in the meantime, we have some new features, tweaks, and fixes.

The big news for this update is a color slider for those who requested it. Note that the original look is completely unchanged, so this is a purely optional alternative. The finished game will allow you to restore the default values, but for the time being you can find them listed in the pinned Contrast Settings topic on the Steam community forums.

Please see the changelist for a complete summary of tweaks, fixes, and optimizations, but beware that it may contain some minor spoilers! And as always, let us know what you think!

New Features:

• Added a color slider. Accessible from the Main Menu or in the Pause Menu while in-game.

Gameplay Changes:

• You now move at aim speed with the bow drawn, making you more vulnerable to enemy fire while lining up a shot.
  
• Melee stealth kills should be working again.
  
• Opened chests will no longer glimmer.
  
• Toned down the cicada sounds.
  
• Re-added the missing dialogue that discloses William Eastgrove's name. Oops.
  
• Characters will now always say something to you even if you've exhausted all topics.
  
• Added a reminder to Listen if you haven't done so at least twice in 80 seconds. It will also be displayed the first time you enter the otherworld after gaining the Listen ability and displays if you continue from a saved game in which you hadn’t listened at least twice.
  
• Adjusted shortbow arrow speed and gravity.
  
• Reduced the damage of the ghost enemies’ ranged attack.
  
• Examining a health barrel will now drink from it so that you don’t have to activate it a second time.
  
• You now collect the arrows from the sentry towers in Fort Henry when examining them.

Fixes:

• Fixed issue with not being able to buy arrows.
  
• Added a custom file to prevent user settings from getting wiped between builds.
  
• Additional navmesh cleanup to try to fix some problem areas southwest of Fort Henry.
  
• Fixed a potential progression blocker if you quit too soon after examining a crime scene.
  
• Fixed an issue with enemies not always appearing in correct numbers after you die and respawn.
  
• Fixed ammo refill exploit in Coastal Path.
  
• Fixed issue with wind not gusting in Coastal Path.
  
• Fixed issue with birds singing cheerfully in the otherworld.
  
• Fixed some collision issues and inconsistencies with crates, barrels, and chests on the beach.

Visual Improvements:

• Turned off ambient occlusion by default to reduce flickering and artifacts.
  
• Made the light gray rocks less bright and swapped out some rock materials in the FortHenry region.
  
• Dirtied up the rocky pebbles texture to blend into the underlying landscape texture better.
  
• Added new custom “store” asset.
  
• Smoothed out some layer blending and bumpiness around structures in the Fort Henry area.
  
• Adjusted the exit gate to not be so dark.
  
• Addressed some issues with ferns not casting shadows.
  
• Slightly scaled down foliage directly beside the path in Coastal Path to keep the player from feeling too small.
  
• Removed a small rock that was completely in shadow.
  
• Removed a couple of cliff rocks along the coast that weren't useful/visible anymore.
  
• Set the crates on the beach to cast shadows.

Optimizations:

• Added switch to disable color variation for leaves when it's not used as well as a low quality switch when it is used.
  
• Added switches to disable ~100 vert instructions of branch motion that's not needed on tree far LODs.
  
• Updated landscape to support low quality materials.

[RealChynnaDoll]

Love it! Keep up the great work. :3

[PigVomit]

Good job,in my opinion the game look better now.

[Mr. Tibbs]

Excellent work guys. I really appreciate the communication, support and creativity going into Betrayer and the community. I've already seen massive framerate improvments from the last patch, and the prompt fine tuning, fixes and balancing is great to see.

The game is really special. I can't wait to see the next area (no rush though)!

[jk5w]

Kinda sad you guys ended up folding on the black/white art direction. I hope in the final build you guys lock it away until one clears the game for the first time, or something. Even then it's kinda pathetic we even made it to this point in the first place. I don't recall The Artist giving anyone an option to throw out it's art direction because they didn't like it, but I guess that's the difference between a medium that has general acceptance as an artform and one that does not.

[Sivulla]

Hmm, Managed to skip through the beta notification at the end of the first area. Heh, small preview of what is in the next area.

[Sysgen]

Terrible that you gave in and added a color option. Didn't you have a vision or willing to stand up for your artistic values? The previous update adding the contrast and brightness sliders actually made the game playble for many that were complaining so it's so sad to see that you've compromised the direction of the game.

[PigVomit]

Oprindeligt skrevet af Sysgen:

Terrible that you gave in and added a color option. Didn't you have a vision or willing to stand up for your artistic values? The previous update adding the contrast and brigtness sliders actually made the game playble for many that were complaining so it's so sad to see that you've compromised the direction of the game.

The direction of the game is not compromise you can still play in black and white.

[Sysgen]

Oprindeligt skrevet af nincompoop:

Oprindeligt skrevet af Sysgen:

Terrible that you gave in and added a color option. Didn't you have a vision or willing to stand up for your artistic values? The previous update adding the contrast and brigtness sliders actually made the game playble for many that were complaining so it's so sad to see that you've compromised the direction of the game.

The direction of the game is not compromise you can still play in black and white.

From someone that says the game looks better, of course you misconstrued my usage and context of the word compromised. There was a reason color wasn't in the game and there is a reason they added it. The vast majority will play with color completely destroying the intended vision.

[Villager]

pa22word and Sysgen, the original visual style is still completely intact and will be the default look of the game. We haven't changed the core experience in any way. Nor do these options come at the expense of anything.

We’ve heard from a number of people who bought the game and have experienced eyestrain or motion sickness. We take their satisfaction as seriously as anyone else’s.

We have also heard from players who are interested in the game but worried about the possibility of experiencing these symptoms. The contrast and color sliders should make them more comfortable giving the game a chance. We obviously hope that they'll try the default look to see if they can adapt to it as quickly as most players seem to. But if not and they can still get some enjoyment from playing with different visual settings, that's fine with us.

It's true that players aren't getting the intended experience if they adjust the visuals, but it's also true that they aren't getting the intended experience if they're playing uncomfortably or resentfully. Or if they aren't playing at all.

The bottom line is that we want players to enjoy Betrayer, especially if they’ve already purchased it. At the same time, we don’t want one person’s enjoyment to come at the expense of another’s, which is why these sliders are purely optional.

[Villager]

Sysgen, at PAX, where we first introduced the color slider, almost every single player experimented with it and then reverted to the default look, so we're hopeful that your concerns are unfounded.

The only person I saw leave color on was someone who said he'd gotten a motion sickness from playing but was still a fan of the game. I felt great knowing that he'd be able to play the rest without headaches or nausea.

[DunHiLa]

Oprindeligt skrevet af Craig Hubbard:

Sysgen, at PAX, where we first introduced the color slider, almost every single player experimented with it and then reverted to the default look, so we're hopeful that your concerns are unfounded.

The only person I saw leave color on was someone who said he'd gotten a motion sickness from playing but was still a fan of the game. I felt great knowing that he'd be able to play the rest without headaches or nausea.

Craig,mate-I will hump you a lot,I promise.I knew this game would be great but the way you guys are fastly updating it with all this great features and that you listened to the community about the color slider and more-I have to name you best studio of this year.

[Shrimperator]

I seriously don't understand how anybody can complain about the color-slider. It's completely optional. I think you dealt perfectly with the color-"problem".

I'm very excited for the new areas in the following updates.

Keep the good work up :)

[Sysgen]

Oprindeligt skrevet af Craig Hubbard:

Sysgen, at PAX, where we first introduced the color slider, almost every single player experimented with it and then reverted to the default look, so we're hopeful that your concerns are unfounded.

The only person I saw leave color on was someone who said he'd gotten a motion sickness from playing but was still a fan of the game. I felt great knowing that he'd be able to play the rest without headaches or nausea.

Well, I actually tried it. It was too late last night to do so. Now that I've tried it I see no reason to leave the game in B&W. I will use color. I hear you about PAX but it is just my gut feeling that the majority will not play the game as you originally intended. The one redeeming thing is that you left color out of the "post bell" space.

To be honest, my feeling is that you are concerned about sales. That is understandable and at the end of the day you have to feed your families so I guess you have to do what you have to do. When I found your game on Steam I just had this romantic figment that I found something special and unique. The game still may be that. Good luck.

[Shrimperator]

A game where you can adjust the color to your liking is (unfortunately) still very unique. I wish it wasn't though. It's great that I can play the game exactly how I find it's looking good :)

[Ostanes]

When you put colors on and leave the Fort Henry Area in the Otherworld, the Path is still black & white until you go back to Fort Henry and again to the Path. :|
But it's still a very nice update :D