We Were Here Together | Game update – 1.3.1.
We Were Here Together
Game update – 1.3.1.
OCTOBER 31, 2019 | IN PATCH NOTE, WE WERE HERE TOGETHER | BY TOTAL MAYHEM GAMES
Good news everybody!
Earlier this week we released a hotfix which should resolve the issues with microphone volume dropping,
and now we’ve just released a larger update with even more in it.
Complete list of changes and future plans
Fixes included in this patch
- Issues related to microphone levels have been resolved.
- Added cross region friend invites.
- Added a toggle in the gameplay settings that will make sure you connect to the region with the lowest ping. (Auto select region).
- Added controller navigation support to the banners in the main menu.
- Added translations for the keybinding panel.
- Added the ability to select a different region when the connection in the title screen fails.
- Added the ability to see what chapter is selected before joining a game.
- Fixed some UI navigation issues.
- Fixed an instance where the lobby background and chapter name would not be updated correctly.
- The correct background is now shown for chapter 6 in the lobby.
- You no longer receive a “Connection Established” popup when switching regions.
- Fixed some minor visual errors in the game hud.
- Fixed several instances of inventory items showing up through cutscenes.
- Fixed an instance where the candle would not be visible.
- Fixed a visual glitch where the candle would be visible for a single frame when scrolling through the inventory.
- Fixed an instance where players would clip through the ceiling in forced crouch areas when opening the menu.
- Subtitles in the basecamp should be more consistent now.
- Snow and Cloud particles should no longer be visible when inside the basecamp.
- You can no longer get stuck behind the outside door in the basecamp.
- Fixed an issue where you could solve the clock puzzle with only one correct dial.
- The board of the alchemy puzzle is now properly interactable.
- Fixed a missing door after passing through the royal passage.
- Removed a button click sound effect during the intro cutscene of the throne room.
- The jester’s face now disappears in the game-over screen.
- Keybindings for the decision moment are now correctly bound to the correct keys.
- Reworked a lot of the rotating statue puzzle in the throne room to resolve de-sync issues. (let us know if this has truly fixed the issue).
- Improved performance in the throne room.
- All steam achievements are now hidden to avoid spoilers.
- Added some Halloween decorations to the basecamp.
What we are working on
- Proper implementation for microphone auto leveling.
- Revamp of the control schemes.
- Ability to select a checkpoint for all puzzles in the Overgrown chapter.
- Collectibles that can be found throughout the game.
- Audio leveling throughout the game.
- Resolve performance drop caused by the volumetric fog.
- An issue when 2 players try to join the same game at the same time.
- Investigating an issue in the mirror room where the rotatable titles spin 360 degrees instead of 90 degrees.
- Investigating an issue in the bridge puzzle where the clamps don’t always update correctly.
- Investigating an issue where push to talk events are not sent to the other player, resulting in the voice chat not working at all.
- General bug fixes for puzzles.
- Loading speed optimizations.
- General performance optimizations.
As always, let us know if these fixes work for you, and keep on posting reports of any new issues you encounter via Discord or the feedback subforum.
All feedback is much appreciated!
First Developer Diary video is live!
Developer Diaries
Episode 1: Escape Together
OCTOBER 30, 2019 | IN DEVELOPMENT, WE WERE HERE TOGETHER | BY TOTAL MAYHEM GAMES
Join us for a behind the scenes look at the making of We Were Here Together! In this first of four episodes, we discuss the cooperative gameplay in the game as well as the essence of cooperation itself.
The series will cover the challenges the team faced while designing the latest entry in the co-op series and what new features were added during production to evolve the experience. Watch Episode 1: Escape Together below!
Happy Halloween at the Base Camp!
Happy Halloween at the Base Camp!
OCTOBER 29, 2019 | IN EVENTS, WE WERE HERE TOGETHER | BY TOTAL MAYHEM GAMES
Pumpkins, pumpkins and more pumpkins…
Pumpkins have been brought in just for the holidays, and those long Antarctic nights (sometimes a couple of weeks long in the depth of Winter)
have given the explorers plenty of time to practice their carving technique.
Carving pumpkins!
Reading scary stories!
Jump scares!
Finally, if We Were Here Together is the first game you’ve played in the series, you might be interested in our Halloween sale on We Were Here Too!
It’s 55% off while supplies last…*
*Supplies will always last, since this is digital distribution after all…
We Were Here Together | Game update – 1.2.0
We Were Here Together
Game update – 1.2.0
OCTOBER 24, 2019 | IN PATCH NOTE, WE WERE HERE TOGETHER | BY TOTAL MAYHEM GAMES
Today’s update brings a mix of game play and puzzle updates alongside technical tweaks to improve performance and option menus.
We also have an updated list of things we are working on.
Fixes included in this update:
- Simplified resolution selection. (highest refresh rate is now automatically applied for the selected resolution)
- Removed the refresh rate dropdown due to confusion.
- Resolution dropdown now displays the current resolution properly.
- Steam avatars now visible in server browser.
- You can no longer get stuck behind the wooden fence in the basecamp.
- You actually spray the poison on the plant in the greenhouse now.
- The ceiling of the brewery should no longer be foggy.
- Removed a “cheat” where picking the same destination 3 times would complete the puzzle.
- Fixed some issues with menu text and subtitles.
- After passing through the royal passage the door behind you is now closed.
- The pipes puzzle is more consistent in updating the leak states.
- Spamming the paintings in the mirror room should no longer result in the puzzle becoming unsolvable.
- The clock inside the mirror room should now visually represent the correct solution.
- You should no longer hear the puzzle complete sound twice in the mirror room.
- Fixed some visual inconsistencies.
- More performance optimizations.
- Added OpenGL for older Apple Hardware (this is experimental, visual errors could occur)
What we are working on:
- We are still investigating issues surrounding the microphone volume being pushed down.
- General bug fixes for puzzles.
- General performance optimizations.
- Loading performance optimizations.
- Game invites that fail when players are not in the same region.
- Ability to switch region if connection fails in the title screen.
- Ability to switch region directly from the server browser.
- Ability to select a checkpoint for all puzzles in the Overgrown chapter.
- Ability to see what chapter is selected before joining a lobby.
- Visual glitches where the candle would be visible for a single frame when scrolling through the inventory.
- Minor visual errors in the menu and lobby.
- Controller navigation for the banners on the right side of the main menu.
If you run into new issues, please make sure to contact us via Discord or the feedback subforum.
Walkie-Talk - Meet Alex
Walkie-Talk
Meet Alex
OCTOBER 18, 2019 | IN ABOUT, DEVELOPMENT, INTERVIEW, WE WERE HERE TOGETHER | BY TOTAL MAYHEM GAMES
Developer Interview
Previously on Walkie-Talk we looked at how we design puzzles for the We Were Here games.
However, even with the best ideas in the world a game doesn’t get far without technical developers.
Today we’re talking to one of our newest devs, Alex Leestemaker.
Walkie-Talk: Hi Alex! Let’s start with the basics. Who are you and what do you do?
Alex Leestemaker:
My name is Alex, and I’m the new programmer on the team. That means I listen to what the game designers would like in the game, I program exactly what they asked for, and then the next day it turned out that they meant something completely different and I can start from scratch.
What do you think of your work at Total Mayhem Games so far?
This is my first job in the game development industry, and I’m glad it’s at a studio that makes games I’m interested in myself. Puzzle games and co-op multiplayer have always been high up on my list of favorite mechanics in video games. Since I’m new to the industry, working in a smaller team like this also feels more familiar than getting thrown into a big sea of coworkers would probably have felt like.
I like it! I’ve been here for a little over half a year now, and it’s my first job straight out of university. It’s a big jump going from a giant university where everything is planned to hell and back to our small office in Rotterdam, but I like my coworkers here far more than the average uni student.
It’s much more cosy for sure! What are you working on right now?
I’ve been working on a lot of the alpha tests we’ve been releasing over the last few months.
Final question – what are you playing for fun right now?
Currently I’m dumping most of my free time into The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
Thanks for your time!
A short but sweet interview this week. We hope you liked it! If there are particular topics you think might make for a cool Walkie-Talk, let us know in the comments.
We Were Here Together | Game Update - 1.1.0
We Were Here Together
Game Update - 1.1.0
OCTOBER 17, 2019 | IN PATCH NOTE, UNCATEGORIZED, WE WERE HERE TOGETHER | BY TOTAL MAYHEM GAMES
Thanks everyone for your great comments, reviews, and general feedback!
The launch has been great, and today we have a first update to resolve some of the issues that slipped through.
UPDATE
Thank you all for reporting bugs back to us. We resolved already a few of the issues. It doesn’t cover everything that’s been reported yet – see the known issues section for a list of things we’re working on. Keep that feedback coming!
Changelog
Fixes:
- Final chapter in some rare cases didn’t trigger the same events / cut-scenes at both ends
- Environments behind a door sometimes popped in, due to slow loading
- In very rare occasions the Brewery area wasn’t loaded in for one of the two players
- Pipes puzzle sometimes didn’t trigger an achievement
- When using the 4-way pipe in the pipe puzzle the leakage isn’t always clear (visual and in sound)
- Server browser could not be scrolled
- Achievement when inviting a friend didn’t get triggered on some rare occasion
- Credits list in menu didn’t always work
Improvements:
- Loading times have been improved
- Several minor performance improvements
- Organ player is now more visible
- Subtitles in various languages
- Several minor improvements to the experience
Known issues / planned for future patches:
- New Steam integration, fixing some integration issues and visuals like profile pictures
- Microphone issues, where some players experience issues with the volume of the microphone getting adjusted
- Players in different regions sometimes have a hard time inviting each other
- Players are often connected to EU servers, while in another region
- Resolution option in menu doesn’t show all available resolutions due to difference in refresh rates
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
This screenshot from hryule made us smile.
There was a fun stream by LIRIK, as well as one by sodapoppin. If you want to compare how quickly you solved the puzzles compared to well known streamers, take a look!
Review Roundup
We’ve been reading the reviews good and bad (mostly good, we’re happy to say) and there are lots of good points and helpful feedback. It goes without saying that leaving a review is a great way to support the game. Some were quite amusing. Here are a few we liked.
Me and my friend argued alot, fights were had, and im pretty sure a shanking was involved. 5/5 would play again.
~ crazedhunter
Some people are naturally argumentative types. If that’s you, then rest assured you can still enjoy We Were Here Together!
– Excellent story
– Incredible soundtrack
– Immersive atmosphere
– CUTE RUNNING AND JUMPING ANIMATIONS.
– Fair price.5 STARS GAME.
~ Captain Sloth
We’re very tempted to put ‘CUTE RUNNING AND JUMPING ANIMATIONS’ on the store page. After all, we trust a sloth would know a thing or two about cute.
Yeah if you want to become infuriated by your friend, and you want to infuriate your friend at the same time, pick this up.
~ Loathing Editor
Another vote for mutual infuriation. To be clear, this was a positive review 😉
good game, only buy if you are a gigabrain.
~ landocalrissian
You don’t really need a gigabrain to play We Were Here Together… but it certainly doesn’t hurt. Or find a smart friend!
Happy exploring, everyone!
Join Total Mayhem Games at Dreamhack Rotterdam!
Join Total Mayhem Games
at Dreamhack Rotterdam!
OCTOBER 16, 2019 | IN EVENTS, WE WERE HERE TOGETHER | BY TOTAL MAYHEM GAMES
Play the recently released We Were Here Together at the Rotterdam Games Week!
Total Mayhem Games will be at Dreamhack Rotterdam this weekend, as part of the Rotterdam Games Week! We will be there with our latest game We Were Here Together, and it would be great if you could join us at stand 329! Yes, you personally 😉
In their own words, the event is:
“The world’s greatest digital entertainment festival is coming to Rotterdam on 18-20 October 2019. DreamHack Rotterdam 2019 is the major event at the brand new Rotterdam Games Week, and will take place at one of the major venues of the Netherlands: Rotterdam Ahoy.”
There’s something for everyone at the event, with a LAN party, several e-sports tournaments, cosplay competitions, and more! Even better you can play our newly released third game We Were Here Together at our stand!
Get your tickets here!
We Were Here Together out now on Steam!
We Were Here Together
out now on Steam!
Get it now with a launch discount!
Get it now with a launch discount!
OCTOBER 11, 2019 | IN NEWS, RELEASE, WE WERE HERE TOGETHER | BY TOTAL MAYHEM GAMES
Return to Castle Rock!
We’re so excited! The game is ready for you to play! For the first time, chill out in the Base camp
and set foot in the Antarctic snow on your way to Castle Rock.
You can get We Were Here Together right now on Steam for $12.99 / €12.99.
There is a launch discount of 5%, and players of earlier We Were Here games will get an extra 10% discount!
The third game in the We Were Here series features new game play mechanics, locations,
an inventory for you to fill with curious items, and of course new puzzles.
In response to your requests, there is more emphasis on story than ever before,
and several large environments to explore and solve puzzles within.
Your adventure will start out at the base camp…
There are several great innovations in We Were Here Together, and it’s hard for us to pick a favourite! One thing we do know is that there are some amazing new environments for you to explore on your journey from the expedition base camp to the inhospitable Antarctic mystery that is Castle Rock. Read on and we’ll tell you more about those and other features in our latest and greatest adventure yet!
Features include:
- Even closer coop – you won’t always be split up from your partner this time. Explore together, try both sides of a puzzle for a different perspective, it’s up to you! Just don’t get too comfortable – Castle Rock has some tricks waiting for you…
- The great outdoors – puzzle outside Castle Rock for the first time, from the deceptively cosy expedition base camp through imposing sub-zero valleys to breath-taking frozen caves.
- Gadgets won’t save you – but they might help! Figure out how to use new equipment and gather an inventory of curious items to solve puzzles and progress towards the fateful finale in We Were Here Together.
- You aren’t alone in Castle Rock – and this time you get to meet a fellow explorer who is trapped inside. Could they know a way out… and can you trust them?
You will travel through the icy wastes…
More than 2,000,000 people have played We Were Here and We Were Here Too since their releases. It’s amazing to see how much you all love what we’ve made, and we couldn’t have done it without the support from all of you! We’d like to give a special thanks to the alpha and beta testers with their great feedback – you’ll be getting special walkie-talkie skins as our way of showing our gratitude, along with a place in the credits!
…and who knows where you’ll end up?
But wait, there’s more!
The We Were Here Together Supporter Edition contains a special walkie-talkie skin, beautiful artworks designed especially for desktop or phone backgrounds, and almost an hour of music.
For newcomers and those who haven’t got the complete collection yet, check out the We Were Here Series Bundle! It does what it says on the can, with all three games, two supporter editions, and every soundtrack in one tidy collection.
We hope you enjoy your Antarctic adventure! Maybe you’ll even make it back alive? We’d love to hear all about your adventure, so let us know!
Environments in We Were Here Together
Environments in
We Were Here Together
OCTOBER 8, 2019 | IN ART, DEVELOPMENT, WE WERE HERE TOGETHER | BY TOTAL MAYHEM GAMES
Including some new teaser screenshots!
We Were Here Together will bring players to an entirely new part of the Castle – while so far everything has been the classic medieval corridors, lots of dark stone, impressive staircases and balconies, mixed with heavy wood and metal, the new game offers a new take on the series’ showpiece, inside and out.
Castle Rock did not in fact emerge fully formed from the snow and ice of Antarctica – it was built by someone. Of course if you want to learn more about who and why, you’ll have to play the game! You will spend quite some time outside the castle, clambering around scaffolding, traversing snowy paths, and creeping along frozen ledges. While previous explorers found themselves effectively invited inside Castle Rock, making an entrance this time may prove more challenging.
These new environments aren’t just for sightseeing. Longer sight lines opens up more puzzle possibilities, and this makes cooperation important even when you and your partner are together and can both visit the same areas. You can’t be and see everywhere at once, so better split up and make use of those walkie-talkies! Larger environments also means more space to scour for clues, and more places which could hide secrets…
There is also a new part of the castle interior. While everything players have seen in We Were Here games so far is cold and silent, the greenhouses still have life within! With an abundance of glass windows and high ceilings, you might think that they would be less oppressive than the rest of the castle… but there’s something in the air, even here. A stifling corruption that makes you wonder – are the plants only living things in here with you?
The greenhouses are part of a monastery section of the castle, and we know what monks are famous for brewing! The systems to maintain the plants found inside the greenhouse are not simple, and you can bet that puzzles await! Returning players will find the green hues of this new location quite a change from their previous visits to Castle Rock, where stone, statues and metal were often the order of the day.
However, caution is advised. Even the plants here have been influenced by the dark aura of the castle, resulting in some monstrous things. In the screenshot below, we have more of a venus mantrap than a flytrap!
We’ll end on a more pleasant note – the expedition base camp where you start the game. This comfortable cabin provides a gentle introduction to the game, though the puzzles here aren’t anything to scoff at. It provides a base for the player characters and gives players more background about who they are and what they’re doing. You can also discern other information… given those dishes in the sink, either someone has skipped their turn at washing up, or the explorers as a whole aren’t big tidiness fanatics!
The base camp also serves as a contrast to later parts of the game. Players will pass from the warm wood tones of the base camp into the icy blues of the Antarctic exteriors. And then? Into the castle itself, and who knows what awaits you there…
We Were Here Together can be wishlisted on Steam now, and will be released on October 10th!
Return to Castle Rock in just one week...
Return to Castle Rock in just one week...
OCTOBER 4, 2019 | IN NEWS, WE WERE HERE TOGETHER | BY TOTAL MAYHEM GAMES
One week left before release on October 10!
Give us the details!
There’s only one week to go before we release We Were Here Together to the world!
The game will be sold for $12.99. Players of earlier We Were Here games will get a 10% discount. This means if you buy We Were Here Too (which just happens to be 50% off right now) you’ll get 10% off We Were Here Together!
A big thank you to all our testers!
We would like to once again express our gratitude to everyone who has joined our alpha and beta tests. Your feedback has been truly invaluable. We split up puzzles into a series of different playtest sessions so as not to give away the plot of the game, and we appreciate the patience from everyone playing in this unusual way! Tester comments have helped us improve the puzzles themselves, how people navigate through the new environments, and to generally polish everything up even more.
By way of saying thanks, we will be granting special custom walkie-talkie skins to all testers! Alpha testers will get a bronze walkie-talkie skin and beta testers a silver one. Check them out!
Aren’t they beautiful?
Xbox One News
Both We Were Here and We Were Here Too are out on Xbox One, where they’ve had a great reception. Today we can announce that We Were Here Together will also get an Xbox One release! When? We’ll let you know as soon as we can!
Seven days…