SOS is entering Steam Early Access on January 23rd. Finally, Contestants can join us on La Cuna Island without limitation beyond their ability to survive. Here is just a taste of the new content that's in store for you upon returning to La Cuna Island once again.
Contestant Contract
Upon booting SOS for the first time after purchase, players will be asked to agree to our Contestant Contract. This is a shortened version of our Code of Conduct, highlighting the pillars of good behavior that will lead to the most entertaining experiences for all Contestants.
Evidence-Based Reporting
We remain committed to enforcement of our Code of Conduct. SOS is a game that challenges players in new ways, and that meant new challenges for moderation. We teamed with one of the makers of OBS and current member of Lightstream to develop technology for SOS that would allow for the game to clip the preceding 20 seconds of footage and submit it every time a Contestant reports someone.
This will allow our team to strictly crackdown on inappropriate behavior while at the same time reduce the amount of false reporting that goes on, as all reports will be backed by some form of video evidence. With SOS, we aim to foster an inclusive and welcoming environment for all Contestants and to do that we need to be ahead of the curve regarding moderation.
Ghosts No More
Dead teammates in Duos will no longer be able to spectate Contestants other than their partner. Once both members of a team are dead, they will be free to spectate any Contestant in the match. This should prevent dead teammates from “ghosting” and passing along tactical information to their still surviving partners.
New Character - The Scoundrel
Fans with good memories may remember the sneak peak we gave of this character some time ago, but the Scoundrel is finally here. Looking for the perfect character to live out your swarthy deserted island fantasies? Look no further than this unscrupulous individual.
Landmarking
Each starting beach has a defining characteristic to it now to help players easily identify when they spawn and to better navigate to each other in Duos. We’ll let you discover each of the unique spawn landmarks for yourselves, but we’re going to continue to use landmarking on La Cuna Island to help players navigate more fluidly.
Axe Me No Questions
The Wood Axe has been modified to reduce exploits with its swing animation. It’s also easier to aim and more accurate when busting through doors and other obstacles (living or inanimate).
Map Update
The map of La Cuna Island is now updated to match all the changes that have been made over the past year of development. You may notice that some of the names of major locations have changed or that each beach now has a number associated with it. This new map might just be your best friend as you are setting out on La Cuna.
Body Hair
It may not seem like much of an alteration, but body hair was the piece to The Slacker puzzle that you didn’t know was missing until right now.
It’s Coarse and Rough
Thanks to our new materials artist, we have been redoing the surfaces on La Cuna Island. The first of these to get this update is the sand across the island. Those of you not spending their time staring down at the ground may not notice the change, so stop and smell the sand when you return to La Cuna.
Intro Video
The lead-in to the intro of each match has been updated to further bring the reality show that is SOS to life.
Though we are happy to finally be launching in Early Access, this is just the beginning of the next step of our development journey with SOS. We remain committed to absorbing feedback from each and every one of our valuable Contestants to continue making SOS the best game it can be.
These are just the changes that made it in for Early Access launch on the SOS side. To see what we’ve been cooking for you over on Hero, check out our blog post.