Hello inmates,
Here are the changes coming on Tuesday, April 24. Warning: this is a big one! Maintenance will begin at 11 AM EDT (3 PM UTC) and is expected to last about one hour.
The Glider tool was recently unlocked! More information on our official website click here
See you in the arena!
Customization
We’re overhauling the progression system to give you the ability to earn a variety of cosmetic items as you level up. As you play Darwin Project matches and gain Fans, you’ll occasionally receive Fan Gifts. Open these packages to discover new styles for your clothes or weapons. We hope you’re excited to start expanding your collection, because we’re adding over 200 items on Tuesday, with more coming later!
Full information click here
Spectator Interactions: Now with More Votes!
UPDATE 4/26: Following your feedback, we’ve undone these changes.
The last update we made to Spectator Interactions allowed viewers tuned in to contestant streams to vote, even if the Show Director was streaming on a different channel. On Tuesday, we’re making another significant update to this feature that will engage viewers even further. The update is in two parts:
- All zone closures will be voted on by the public, regardless of whether there is a Show Director in the match. This guarantees many votes are launched in a match, giving more control to the audience.
- In matches where nobody joined as a Show Director, an AI will take over the Show Director drone and use Powers whose targets will be voted on by the audience! The Powers that the AI Show Director will be able to use are Nuke, Manhunt, Warm Up, Heal, and Gravity Storm.
In short, if you’re looking to watch some Darwin Project matches, all streams where at least one contestant in the match is streaming (and connected to Twitch/Mixer) will allow you to have a say in the match by voting!
Show Director Power Targeting Update
Finding the sweet spot for what Show Directors can and cannot do has probably been the most persistent challenge of Darwin Project’s development so far. Our vision for the role of the Show Director continues to be entertainment-first, with the contestants’ ability to negotiate and win over the Show Director an important factor in the outcome of the match. Unfortunately, some players still feel that Show Directors directly granting Powers such as Heal and temporary Invincibility to an inmate counts as an unfair advantage. The Show Directors themselves sometimes have trouble dealing with the negativity this creates, so we’ve decided to change the way targets for Show Director Powers are decided.
On Tuesday, all Powers that require a player target will cast a vote to the audience. UPDATE: Thanks for your feedback! We've updated this so it'll only affect Show Directors with a rating of 3 stars or less. There’s a sense among players that if a group of viewers decides which contestant receives an advantage, that player has earned it―but the Show Director’s decisions aren’t received the same way. We hope this change will have a positive impact on both contestant and Show Director experiences while still allowing Show Directors to make matches a blast to watch. Note: this change doesn't affect Private Matches.
Further improving and adding depth to the Show Director role is on high priority for our future updates. Please let us know what you think about this update on any of our official channels as always, and we’ll keep working until we get it just right.
Gain Fans in Duo Mode, Private Matches, and as the Show Director
Another frequently requested improvement! Playing in Duo Mode, Private Matches, and as the Show Director, will now also allow you to gain Fans. This means that Duo and Private Match enthusiasts will also be able to fill up their Dressing Rooms with new gear starting April 24. (Don’t worry, Show Directors, we haven’t forgotten about you).
Gameplay
- Increased Turret deploy time from 0.5 to 1 second
- The Turret will no longer highlight players it aims at
- Decreased the Revenge Cloak clue duration from 2 seconds per level to 1.5 seconds per level
- Decreased the Detective Cloak clue duration from 20% per level to 15% per level
- The Ghost Cloak will now reduce clue duration by 10% per level instead of 15% level
- Decreased Radar duration from 15 seconds to 10 seconds
- The Radar will no longer detect Traps
- The Detector will now detect Traps
- Increased Detector cooldown from 30 seconds to 45 seconds
- Reduced Arrow knockback by 30%
- Increased health recovered when you kill a player from 150 HP to 300 HP
- Parrying an Axe attack while trapped now breaks the Trap
- Killing a deer with an Arrow now destroys the Arrow
- Improved server Axe hit detection (Axe combat will feel better the lower your ping)
- Aiming your Bow will now slightly consume Stamina
- Snowballs will now nullify Camo on hit
- Snowballs will now destroy Turrets on hit
- Using the Camo power when the Glider is in effect will also camouflage the Glider
- NEW: Tightened the hitbox for the jump Axe attack
Audio
- Added volume sliders for music, sound effects, and voiceover
Level Design
- Removed a huge rock in the North West Electronic area to create more space for combat during sudden death
Visuals
- Matches can now begin in the daytime, at dusk, or at nighttime (previously they would only begin at dusk)
- The snowstorm will no longer begin at the same point in the match
- Fixed an issue where the zone restriction would trigger a crowd favorite vote
- Fixed an issue where Holomaps would disappear after the Manhunt cutscene
- Fixed an issue where the Turret could hit a player who was out of range if it started firing while the player was in range
- Fixed an issue where the Evader Boots bonus would stack when multiple players tracked you
- All Bear Traps, Cage Trap, Tripwires, Turrets and Rigged Chests touching an Arena (Electronic power) when it vanishes will be destroyed (to address an issue where these tools would be stuck in the air if the Arena was used during a jump)
- Using the Glider will no longer prevent your Stamina from regenerating
- Fixed an issue where the Turret would sometimes not be destroyed when hit by an Arrow
- Fixed an issue where the incorrect voiceover would play when the Manhunt target was killed
- Fixed an issue where the kill by trap voiceover would not play
- Fixed a hole near West Electronic area where a player can fall in and get stuck
- Jumping through a Portal will no longer cause a hard landing
- You will now be able to enter a Portal from the side
- Fixed an issue where audio input and output device settings were not saved
Thanks for the pizza!
We're proud to say that the Darwin Project community is THE MOST AWESOME community there is in this industry. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you so much for this nice surprise. We never thought we'd get sushi and pizza gifted by our inmates.
Update: To get a refund, you need to get in contact with Steam Support and they will refund regardless of purchase date.
We love you all!