Release Date on Steam, Nintendo Switch information
over 1 year ago – Tue, Aug 01, 2023 at 08:57:21 AM

Dear Sparks,

finally, after a long and arduous game development, we are closing in on launch! This update is spoiler free.

Release Date on Steam

Today, I am proud to announce the release date of Girl Genius: Adventures In Castle Heterodyne on Steam.

The game will release on Steam the 5th of September 2023, for the platforms PC, MacOS and Linux.

Yay!

Nintendo Switch

Nintendo Switch release date is TBA. More information will follow soon. We're waiting for final commitment date from our distributor on Switch.

Digital and Physical for Switch will release at the same time.

I've been trying since January this year to make both Steam and Switch releases line up at the same time, but it just was not possible. 

On the bright side, it will be worth the extra wait. The game is running smooth on Switch for our development builds currently, and I think it will be a great console for the game.

Physical Kickstarter reward items

Physical reward items like for example the Artbook, will be shipped out when we're shipping Nintendo Switch. We've signed an agreement with a company in the U.S that will handle manufacture of all physical items.

Alpha and Beta players

I want to say a BIG THANK YOU to all our Alpha and Beta players that have helped test the game, finding bugs and issues, and giving feedback. At the time of this writing, there's still a few weeks left towards the Steam launch, and there will be additional patches in this period finishing up the last bits, and getting rid of the last bugs and issues.

I hope you're all excited for the game!

- Kenny

Twitter: @raingames_kenny & @rain_games

Beta Information
over 1 year ago – Fri, Jul 07, 2023 at 10:59:29 AM

Dear Beta Players,

we're finally ready to start the first Beta.

This update will contain a lot of important information, so please read through it. Thank you!

 How To Install The Game

• The Beta will be available through Steam on the platforms Windows, MacOS and Linux.
• If you've been playing the earlier Alpha versions, you do not need to do anything. You only need to download the large update on Steam or reinstall the game.
• A little bit later than receiving this email, you should have received an email from Backerkit, saying something in the lines of "Claim your digital downloads!"
• Follow the link in the email to your survey in Backerkit where you will find the digital download "Girl Genius Beta Key Steam". Download this, as it contains your Steam Key.
• Follow this link for installation instructions on how to add a game to Steam.

What are the contents of the Beta version of the game?

• You can complete the storyline.
• You can complete the large sidequests "Find All The Dingbot Sergeants" and "Masterful Paintings".
• Please note! You CAN NOT GET 100% Completion during the early start of the Beta period, due to some Heterodyne Artifacts that will be added during the period. Please see #beta-roadmap in the community Discord for updates.

What is the purpose of the Beta?

• Help us find bugs and issues and report them to us using the ingame bug reporter or writing in #bugs in the community issues. The most important to find are critical issues that blocks progression in the game or makes your savefile invalid.
• Feedback on game balance. Game difficulty, prices of upgrades, puzzle difficulty, bossfights...
• Uncovering technical issues with different platforms (Win, Mac, Linux), different input devices, hardware issues...

How to report bugs and issues

• Use the ingame bug reporter by pressing 'K' on the keyboard.
• Write and post image or video in #bugs in the community Discord.
• Please try your best to describe what you did before the issue was encountered, what happened, what you expected to happen, and how to reproduce the issue if possible.

What feedback do we not need?

• Please do not post bug reports on typos or content in text like dialogues, lore etc. We will do internal proofreading through the Beta period, and we will also be working directly with Studio Foglio on the granular details of text content during the period. Text issues will be solved throughout Beta in patches.

How will the Beta period play out?

• We're gonna do many, many patches during the entire Beta period towards release, fixing bugs and issues as well as adding some additional game content.
• The first Beta will have some missing content, and missing polish in certain areas.
• Please see the Beta Roadmap below for what content is going to be added to the game during Beta, and please use the community Discord, where we will be posting regular #patch-notes and updating players on the status of the roadmap.

Beta Roadmap

• The following are game content planned to be patched in during Beta.
• Please see #beta-roadmap in the community Discord for updates on these items during Beta.
• Game Intro 2D Cinematic: Not finished. Is in production.
• Game Ending 2D Cinematic: In production.
• Game Ending Epilogue: Wrapping up the story after beating the final bossfight.
• Othar Tryggvassen side content.
• Additional music. Multiple new tunes have been produced, but need some additional polish before implementation.
• Sound Effects. SFX for props that are missing, more ambience etc. Especially in Act 3.
• Additional Heterodyne Artifacts hidden in the Castle.
• A few additional gameplay levels.
• InkyPen ingame comic reader and vendor.
• Act 3 polish, additional set dressing and audio work.
• Steam Achievements.
• Arena Challenges final reward for completing all challenges with full Mastery.
• A nice-to-have REDACTED

Thank you for playing the Beta and helping us with testing so we can provide a better game experience for everybody!

- Kenny

Twitter: @raingames_kenny & @rain_games

Beta Milestone
over 1 year ago – Mon, Jul 03, 2023 at 06:40:43 AM

Dear Backers,

major milestone incoming!

We're starting Beta this week.

In this post, I will also do a small devblog at the bottom. That section will contain some spoilers, and will be clearly marked.

I am participating in the Beta. What should I do?

• For those participating in the Beta, please watch your inbox this week for a separate email regarding the details.

What is a Beta?

• A Beta version of the game is a pretty much content complete version of the game.
• I say pretty much, because there's some additional content that will be patched in during beta towards release. Examples: Game intro 2D cinematic, game ending 2D cinematic, smaller sidecontent and polish.

What is the purpose of a Beta playtest?

• To have a fairly sizeable amount of players playtest the game, with the purpose of finding bugs and issues and providing feedback.
• The most important issues to find are any critical issues blocking the player from progressing in the game.
• Game balancing. Prices of upgrades, how much damage things deal etc.

What is the content of the Beta?

• Around 95% of the full game.
• The player can play the entire storyline, and fulfill the additional side quests in the game.
• Note! There is some additional content that will be patched in during the Beta period.

What platforms are available during Beta?

• Windows, MacOS, Linux.

Devblog and spoiler section

• This section will show some diverse content from the game, and as such, can be considered spoilers.

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Images and screenshots

So right now we're working on the game intro cinematic. Here are some WIP shots from that.

So as you can see, the game introduction 2D cinematic will be different panels with camera panning and text, to introduce the player to the world and the general story.

And here are some screenshots from the new areas in the game, namely the Great Movement Chamber areas.

And here's some quick shots of a certain angry plant.

Here's Chronomoira The Clank. It's a special clank found in Castle Heterodyne with mysterious origins. It is a vendor that sells Girl Genius editions to read in the ingame comic reader. Note! This functionality will not be available until later in Beta.

Here's the Statue Of A Thousand Faces found in the Special Exhibition Room.

The little Dingbot has some plans of their own!

Each Dingbot Sergeant that can be found in the game now has a unique 3D model. Say hello to Sgt. Pipeworth!

Oh, and here's one of the Muse Portraits that you can find in Der Kestle. Say hello to Lightfoot and a very happy Jägermonster.

- Kenny

Twitter: @raingames_kenny & @rain_games

Upcoming: Steam Next Fest and BETA!
over 1 year ago – Mon, Jun 05, 2023 at 04:48:41 AM

Dear Sparks,

finally things are starting to get close to completion.

First things first.

Steam Next Fest

The game is participating in the Steam Next Fest event, where everyone can play a demo of the game, during the period of the event. 

Steam Next Fest is a very important event for upcoming games on Steam, so I hope you will all play it, show it off to your friends and communities and get people talking about the game. <3

The demo can be found on the game's Steam Store Page here, and is available during the event. The store page will not feature a demo link until the event starts.

Beta

The game is very, very close to Beta. We're estimating that we'll start Beta in mid June. Full information on the Beta will be given once we're closing in.

Release Date

I can't give the date yet, as we're waiting for our physical game manufacturer and producer to figure things out on their end. This impacts the release date, and we're trying our very best to get things synchronized. We're trying to get this settled as fast as possible so we can set a proper release date.

I'll keep this update short and sweet. 

I would love to show off more behind-the-scenes content for those of you that are interested in that, but right now we're knee-deep in preparing everything and we really need to have laser focus. Thank you for your understanding.

- Kenny

@Raingames_Kenny & @Rain_Games on Twitter.

Devblog # 18 - New Trailer, Progress, London W.A.S.D event
over 1 year ago – Tue, Apr 04, 2023 at 08:15:32 AM

Happy Easter everyone,

so one of the big news is the new trailer. What do you think? :)

Other than that, we are working on the last game content, and it is progressing nicely. We're almost done with the last bossfight in terms of mechanics. I will share more on that in the next Kickstarter Update in the spoiler section. We are currently working on the last levels in the game as well, and the last story content. We have also started polishing the early game content in Act 1. In short, we are not that far away from starting the beta. We'll do that once the game is playable from start to finish. News on when the beta is started will be given when it's ready, so please watch your inbox and our socials. We do not have an exact date yet.

In other news, we went to London W.A.S.D event, showing off a demo. 

The reception among the players were great! I was positively surprised that so many loved the game. I would say around 80-90%% positive remarks, which is really good. We had players constantly throughout the three days we were there. It was wild and intense, with around 9000 visitors for the event over the three days. At this event, many people had not heard about Girl Genius, so it was great to show off the game and the series to a new audience. I think the most common feedback\statement given by players about the game were; "It's giving me that nostalgia feel, like PS2 or Gamecube era vibes, reminiscing games like Ratchet & Clank and the Zelda-series". Interesting! 

It was a very good event, with lots of good people, good games and good vibes.  If you ever find yourself in London next year, and WASD is up, I recommend the event.

Below starts the spoiler section, so thanks for reading!

- Kenny

Twitter: @raingames_kenny & @rain_games

Spoiler section

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In the next Kickstarter Update I'll likely show off more spoiler content from the last bossfight and Act 3 of the game.

Thanks again for reading and I'll se you next time!

- Kenny

Twitter: @raingames_kenny & @rain_games