Patch Notes v1.4.13b

Happy Holidays and all that. What's this... A Christmas day patch!? Just a few minor issues have come up recently that I feel compelled to fix before they become forever postponed.

Don't drop the currently grabbed thing when pause + resume game Quite funny history here: About 2 years ago there there was a bug that meant the currently grabbed thing travelled with you to the pause menu. In a parallel universe that could even be an interesting feature. I fixed that bug a bit lazily (I now realise) by just forcing the thing to be dropped when game is paused. But then as a player recently reported... it was possible to blow yourself up when game paused while carrying an explodeable thing. So hopefully now this is properly fixed.

Ensure Ego Fragments can still be collected when they're half stuck in level geometry

Probably no-one has ever noticed but if you broke a MUM apart, one of her broken bits was actually a duplicate of one of her other bits i.e. it was the wrong kind of broken bit.
Patch Notes v1.4.12

Controller icons were appearing in the wrong place while in ctrl of a Juice Vending Machine
Patch Notes v1.4.11

PUP was supposed to have been rechargeable while inside their cage all this time, pretty sure it was working at one point, Well now it's certainly working.
Patch Notes v1.4.10.02

Hotfix: Small cages weren't receiving explosion damage
Українська!

Ukrainian localization v1.4.10: Українська!

NEW: Ukrainian localization of the game is now available

To change language, navigate to Menu > Settings > Language

Other Fixes included in this patch:

A Legacy Systems lighting correction that no-one will notice

When in ctrl of a faulting host, the fault effect wasn't showing up, now corrected
Patch Notes v1.4.9 Font Gymnastics

For the benefit of you few kindly souls who read my patch notes, I'm going to break with tradition and explain why this patch exists before I go on to explain what purpose it serves.

Back in 2015 when work on the game began, it seemed a cool and fun idea to create the entire user-interface using pure fixed-width text characters - as if the user-interface were a pre-GUI retro-console display screen overlay.

For example, these characters:

┏━━━━━┓ ┃━━━━━┃ ┗━━━━━┛

in-game are used to draw the EMU:

And the UI background isn't a black image.... it uses one or more of this character: █

So the UI in Ctrl Alt Ego is essentially a text buffer if you know what one of those is, with weird characters and rich-text markup to tweak colors and sizes.

It's been absolute hell to work with. Don't ever do it.

I have implemented so much weird mathematics to get the UI to lay itself out and resize correctly. It's been 9 years of pain. Localization added a whole new layer of pain on top... because now all my weird mathematics has to account for different fonts.

I'm saying weird mathematics, because I never really understood why i was having to synchronize background characters with the foreground drawing glyphs. They're all using the same font, I thought. The font is monospace fixedwidth, right? Why are there any calculations to do? Just render a background character in one layer, then render the drawing glpyh over the top of it and they should line up just fine, surely?

I have gone 9 years not really understanding why. 9 years! Mostly because I was too lazy (or too busy if I'm being more generous to myself) to drill down and try to understand what was going on.

Well a week or two ago, the publisher dev team working on the console ports discovered that the user-interface was rendering very strangely indeed in their console builds. Some characters were aligned very badly, and some characters were.... missing!

And, they informed me, and this is the punchline really, the characters I'm using to draw the user-interface aren't even defined in the font!

So what has been happening all this time - and that includes 2 years of the game being out there - is Unity (the game engine) has been quietly detecting the characters are missing and choosing a fallback font on the target system to use instead. That includes both on my development PCs and on player's PCs - I mean who knows what some players have been seeing all this time if their system isn't a fairly standard Windows platform.

And so that brings me to this patch. Basically I have gone through all the user-interface code to ensure it is using well-defined font characters. Can't have the game relying on chance to render the UI properly! This has meant having to change the look of the UI slightly in some cases (hopefully not very noticeably different though).
List of other Changes in this Patch

GameController LeftStick can now be used to navigate menus

Language Selector UX improved

Yet another font related technical fix - to spread the cost of rendering too many textures all at once on level load

I've reduced the default GLOOM level for new players, been getting several complaints about game being too dark
Patch Notes v1.4.8

Controller glyphs and 'flying while carrying' bug-fix

Controller users now get to look at proper controller glyphs instead of the retro text-formatted prompts that regular mouse/keyboard players will continue to see. This is part of preparing for console versions (which require official input glyphs). Some might argue it's a shame to lose the punk aesthetic of the over-the-top retro UI text control prompts, especially given the game's name comes from the PC keyboard.... but needs must and no doubt some will prefer the new glyphs anyway.

bug-fix: Carrying something as bug22 will no longer prevent you from flying. Players have been reporting this on and off for a long time and I've always just put it down to weird physics quirk that I was unable to replicate. Luckily I did finally understand how to replicate it, so now it's fixed.

Fix not being able to rebind W (forwards) to E

Increased the size of Task/Meta/Insight notifications (the ones that appear top-left of screen) to make them more prominent
Patch Notes v1.4.7

Corrected poor materials usage, mostly in the UI - less inefficient now. Can't believe I only just noticed.

Made it so the elevator near Rocket Launchsite can be ctrl'd from the lower level while it's at the upper level if you've ctrl'd it previously (after a player wondered why they couldn't)

Fixed a missing collider near Rocket Launchsite

Fixed a stray unlocalized string that I'd missed all this time
Patch Notes v1.4.6

Added some measures to bring Bug0 back if he's still needed and accidentally gets lost in CRS (e.g. if he glitches through vent)

VaQ wasn't sucking up Ego Fragments properly

Download tool wasn't always remaining selected when unctrl-ing Bug22

Key-bindings screen was not working well for new players / clean install
Patch Notes v1.4.1 NewGame+ Fixups, New Key Rebinds + More NewGame+ Fixes:

GRAV key is now rebindable in NG+

A CAT in rocket launch area was never coming online

The second Virus wasn't showing up at the GOD Dock
Keyboard Input Bindings

Grabber > Upright is now additionally bound to Q (default), which means it's also now rebindable

Shift and Alt keys can now be re-bound, and can be used as toggles rather than keep-held-down.

Fix: Grenade blast radius wasn't always damaging everything caught in the blast due to a buffer not being large enough

Fix: A couple of inactive guard-rail pieces in Port 666 still had collision enabled

A MUM in Legacy Systems had turned invisible

Improvement: Added some fatter colliders to various vent pieces to reduce chance of physics glitching from inside vent to outside them (and so out-of-bounds).

Patch Notes v1.4.2

Bug 22 was refusing to stay on the train at merging station location! Due to a physics change I made a few patches back, now resolved.

Defragmentation location, added something to the buglock door to prevent Bug22 being able to glitch through the door
New Game Plus (NG+) Has Arrived

Watch a wee enticer vid here: https://youtu.be/xj7qR--ClhY

The full campaign, with a twist:

New gravity manipulation ability

New and different enemy placements

New surprises along the way

New shortcuts and skips

Carry over your Ego, Disks, Worms, MEM from a previous run

All achievements remain achievable
Patch Notes v1.4.5 (4th June, 2024)

2 object persistence technical fixes when crossing between levels

Fix: Corrected a technical issue with DADs moving between levels - symptom would have been either DAD broken parts appearing when they shouldn't or not appearing when they should

Change: A technical change to ensure physics and object transforms synchronized prior to saving / crossing between levels

Patch Size: 7 MB
¡Español!

Ctrl Alt Ego ya está disponible en español

v1.4.3: ¡Español!

NEW: Spanish localization of the game is now available

NUEVO: Ctrl Alt Ego ya está disponible en español

Navigate to Menu > Settings > Language to change language
Patch Notes v1.4.4 (26th May, 2024)

Fix: Technical issue where downloading your own MUM meant MUM wasn't sure where she was - which led to some erratic elevator behavior and who knows what else

Fix: A player discovered an unfortunate soft-lock right at the start of chapter 1

Several German NewGame+ localization corrections
Português!

NEW: Portuguese localization of the game is now available

NOVO: Ctrl Alt Ego já está disponível em português
Patch Notes v1.3.16 (10th April, 2024)

Fix issue whereby a previously serialized Bug that had since been reprinted could end up thinking it was still inside DAD

Fix: Correction to bug grab state across level loads - could end up in a state where it never cleared the grabbed thing

Fix: Egonomics - Exterior geometry was disabled in the Comms Tower section! Might have been broken since v1.3.0, oups.

Fix: The Cloud elevators were missing ceiling collider! Also probably broken since v1.3.0

Improvement: For ultra low VRAM PCs, the game will now run with a very low texture budget - meaning it will look very bad but at least it will run. Anything under 1GB VRAM is considered ultra-low. One player was able to complete the entire game with a mere 128MB VRAM.
Patch Notes v1.3.15 (30th March, 2024)

Fix: Persist grabber state so that items aren't dropped across level transitions i.e. no more accidentally blowing yourself when trying to carry an ether-canister across from one scene to another.

Fix: Fattened a few colliders around Freight Lift ceilings to reduce chance of physics glitching through them

Improvement: Particles now help highlight the collectable bug bits in The Assembler level (new subtle visual effect)

Patch Size: 31 MB
Patch Notes v 1.3.2 (29th August 2023)

Fix: Broken prompts In non-English version
Patch Notes v 1.3.1 (28th August 2023)

Just a hot-fix to Major update 1.3: Tripwires were re-enabling themselves
Major Update 1.3: Performance Boost & Revamped Aesthetic (27th August 2023) Post-Processing

Locations now have a simulated measure of GLOOM and HEAT, both of which impact location look and feel. Darker darks, less flat looking generally, greater lighting clarity.

Here's a 20 second video showing some selected before and after shots:

https://youtu.be/qTnMnxkpbsc?si=k660np17RiDD_Zry

The GLOOM setting can be adjusted. Look under Settings > Display > More

Set GLOOM to 0% to get back to the 'classic' look (i.e. how things looked before this update). Or increase it for a more moody vibe.
Performance

A tonne of unexciting under-the-hood changes to render frames faster. Pretty decent result - on an NVidia GTX 1070 (the min recommended spec) seeing a +50%-ish framerate improvement.

An important first-step towards console ports.

And should mean a much better experience playing on Steam Deck.
Other Changes

Change: Throw, Drop actions are now rebindable

Change: Texture streaming now supported - means much better visuals at LO quality

Change: Made drawers easier to open

Change: Slightly tuned down the rate at which BOTHER accrues at higher difficulties

Fix: Pup-with-disk-looking-at-Bug interaction prompt, broke something in last patch

Fix: You could get stuck on top of the cute lift in Legacy Systems (because no HOP available from there)

Fix: Merging Station prevent physics objects falling under the station stairs in some situations

Fix: Merging Station Train audio was clicking / weird

Fix: DADs were 'slipping' while being printed

Fix: A few Turkish translation fix-ups
Patch Notes v 1.2.10 (16th July 2023) Pup Power

Pup bark (bach) gains an extra function... the sheer sonic force of the bach can now give objects a little jolt.

Other Fixes Fix/Change:Matey Boy recharger bots can now charge Pups when they're inside the little cages Fix: Slight visual glitch with Pup camera seeing its own eye when turning fast Tweak: Ceiling lights in Conscious Robot Services residential better shadows from the evil eyes Fix (hope): Added some safety colliders around Freight Workshop to prevent pups falling off the map Fix: There were a few DAD broken piece instances in Freight Workshop that needed updating (they weren't responding correctly to physics) A few Turkish translation fix-ups
Patch Notes v 1.2.8.01 (10th July 2023)

Türkçe! The Turkish translation has arrived! New players (fresh install) will be prompted to select the game language. Or if you've already started playing and would like to switch, head to Settings > Language > Change Language

Other Changes

Fix: 'Grab husks' wasn't working - broke as part of a recent update - now fixed.

Fix: Bug Traps were still exploding if you ctrl'd and defused them while their timer was ticking. Probably been wrong since launch.

Fix: Tape Archive Device appeared to be floating because caster wheels were occluding when they shouldn't

Fix: Virus was 'sticking' to virtual bug

Change: Added new graffiti to the Prelude to draw attention to the motion BRK (brk) settings

Change: Added some ether canisters to the Prelude to add a little more 'interest' initially
Patch Notes v 1.2.8.01 (30th June 2023)

Русский The first translation of the game has arrived: Russian! Да, русский!

Why Russian? It's down to the superb efforts of a very helpful Russian player-turned-translator (SoSlowMan) - he's done an exceptional job - including going to great lengths to try to capture a flavour of the quirky British humour.

New players (fresh install) will be prompted to select the game language. Alternatively, if you've already started playing, head to Settings > Language > Change Language

More languages are coming!. Turkish and Portuguese (Brazilian) are getting closer by the day. After that, Ukrainian and Spanish. Hoping to add 'all' the languages eventually.

Other Fixes Fix: At The Cloud, don't show the taxi marker if taxi hasn't yet arrived Fix: CRS Corporate "Come back later" task was getting marked complete prematurely Tweak: Grab sound effect reduce volume slightly Probable Fix: Added fatter colliders to several vent pieces to reduce likelihood of physics glitches
Patch Notes v 1.2.7.04 (24th June 2023)

Grab Toggle

Instead of holding the left mouse button down (or RB with controller) to grab and carry stuff, it's now a toggle, just like in all the other games.

It comes with its own audio and visual FX to help convey the idea that carried object behaviour remains physics driven (unlike most other games) and responds to bumps and scrapes.

Game Controller Look Acceleration

Game Controller revision: The last patch (v1.2.6) opted all gamepad users in to 'look acceleration' because wrongly assumed everyone would want that.

So there's now an option for it, and it's OFF by default.

Unfortunately this means there may be a few of you who when they get this update wonder why the game controller feels so different suddenly - to fix that head to Settings > Controls > Game Controller and enable Look Acceleration to get back to the feel of the last patch.

Other Fixes

Fix: Game Controller menu navigation wasn't working if you were disembodied

Fix: Drill wasn't retracting gracefully when switching to the Grabber

Fix: Parasite was immune to damage in the Parasite replay mission
Patch Notes v 1.2.6.03 (18th June 2023) Game Controller Improvements

Introducing two new game controller aim assistance options (look under Settings > Controls > Game Controller)

Interact - If enabled, helps make interactions such as collecting juice and selecting small buttons a little easier by making the interactable object slightly 'sticky'

Combat - if enabled, your aim 'locks on' to sentient robots once you've got them in your sights

They're OFF by default i.e. you need to visit this screen and enable the options if you want them.

Note: These settings apply to game controller input only, mouse/keyboard input not affected.

'Look acceleration' now applied to game controller RS input so that fine and coarse adjustments should both now feel better. You may need to adjust the stick sensitivity (Settings > Controls > Mouse/Stick) to get the feel that suits you.

More consistent navigation in menus in terms of which elements get the focus

One can now select the Discord button in main menu with game controller

Other Bits

New: You can now collect multiple juice and batteries with a single interaction - hold down the use key and all nearby collectables will suck up.

Grabber rotate - made it more responsive (rotates the object faster)

Improvement: Bug arm is now a bit smarter and tries to get out of the way when collecting from openable crates (only if no tool equipped!)

Fix: A few instances of speech audio were restarting on pause/resume

Patch Notes v 1.2.5.03 (14th June 2023)

Another day, another hotfix: Downloaded DADs were falling through the floor.
Patch Notes v 1.2.4.01 (12th June 2023)

The tooltips / explanatory text had stopped showing up when looking at the difficulty settings screen when hovering over the options with the mouse - this is a hotfix for that. The Missions/Choose Gear screen was similarly affected. At least one Executor deployment was shouting too loudly due to being in the wrong audio mixer group.
Patch Notes v 1.2.3.02 (9th June 2023)

Game-breaking fix: The transition from Merger -> Bug Free Zone was broken. Fix: task complete notifications background was oversized for some notifications Fix: Timing was wrong for one of PAM's speeches in CRS Science Improvement: Captions now line-wrap so at larger sizes they still fit on screen Fix: You could download yourself/stuff through the lift shaft wall in CRS Residential Fix: Eliminate exploit whereby you could download yourself through walls (thanks Dani Filth for explaining how)
Patch Notes v 1.2.2.01 (8th June 2023)

The Conscious Robot Services floor directory screens were showing up blank since the last patch - this is just a hotfix for that
Patch Notes v1.2.1 (6th June 2023)

MainMenu (and all other menus) overhauled to be gamepad input friendly - thanks Silverstrings for all the feedback / discussion

Fix: Host camera was zooming in/out when using gamepad DPAD up/down to navigate the TAB UI

Sandbox: Don't allow print things from interior to top of the external wall sections

Sandbox: Ensure music registered correctly for dynamically generated hosts

Sandbox: Add HOP nodes outside windows so that if you fall out you can HOP back in

Missions: Added loading screens for the 2 new missions and for sandbox initial load

Missions Fix: If you selected a mission while playing a mission, restart mission was starting the selected mission rather than restarting the current mission

Fix: Safe/Unsafe info was showing the AI's perspective, should always show form point of view of player. Obviously.

Fix (hope): Added fatter colliders to several vents in the Egonomics area to reduce chance of glitching through them

Fix: Grab/Rotate with game pad was only rotating one direction

Fix occasional ????? showing instead of the intended text.

Fix: Various capitalisation / typos caught by the eagle-eyed SoSlowMan

Slightly reduce volume of hoverboard (prop surf) audio