As we promised the other day, we've got a BETA update ready for you to all to test out, if you're interested! You can opt into this update by swapping over to the "beta" branch. If you're not sure how to do that, follow these steps:

How to Access the Beta:

1. Right click PAMELA in your Steam Library, the click "Properties"
2. Click the "Betas" tab.
3. In the dropdown, select "beta".
4. Close the window; Steam should start downloading the beta.

Important Notes being trying the Beta Build!

There are 2 important things to note with this beta: as there are MANY updates, additions, & optimizations, this update will reset your world save file. This new save file will not be compatible with the Release version of the game either, so whatever you do in the beta will be beta-only.

To back up your save before playing the beta, do the following:

Cut everything inside C:\Users\YourUserName\AppData\LocalLow\NVYVE Studios\PAM_GameLauncher and then paste to a new location. To revert to this safe when returning to the Release branch, simply paste these files back into their original location.

The second note is that we've had to disable level streaming systems (while we wait on Unity's lighting fix) so the load time and general performance will be slightly longer & worse respectively.

What's in the Beta Build?

Well, LOTS! We've been eager to share this boatload of updates for some time now, and decided that releasing this beta build is a good step while we iron out the technical issues with Unity for the Release build.

We'll be posting this changelog again in it's entirety when the Release build is ready, but for those of you taking part in the Beta, read below for the full notes included in this preview build!

Not included in this update is our progress on the Story Mode - we're keeping that back so it can be released all at once, as it is a MAJOR update to the game that is best experienced as a complete package. Stay tuned!

Beta Build Changelog

NPC Updates

• Widow has life stealing ability, attacking non-robot target will regen her health
• Widow now has very poor eyesight but very strong hearing, and she will chase you a long way before giving up. So try to be quiet if you don’t want a fight
• Reaper’s roar will drain the player's stamina, make it hard to fight him at close range
• Adjust npc’s hitbox to make their melee attack more accurate
• NPC with ranged weapon will always drop upgrade cell.
• Added idle animation and spot player animation, NPC’s behavior is smoother

Item & Equipment Updates

• All 7 weapons have a special version, upgrade will boost the damage more comparing to normal version. Also each of them has a new ability to unlock
• Crafting table is now backwards compatible, meaning you can craft anything once you have a level 3 table.
• Item spawn balancing, rare items can now be found more easily in certain higher-level Districts
• Alcohol can boost your melee attack but will increase your fatigue
• New buildable: Solar Accumulator: This new item will auto-charge nearby power transmitter under sunlight
• New VISRs: ARK, Engineer, Stealth, Civilian

Gameplay Updates

• Picking up an item will no longer bring up your IVG
• Dynamic Riot Event: a large amount of NPCs will spawn in a massive riot; join the fray, or wait carefully by the sidelines!
• Dynamic Blackout Event: fluctuations in Eden's power grid cause the power in a District to fail; keep that flashlight handy!
• Player is able to reset genome points when starting a new game
• Updated statistics in Datapad
• Added optional missions which reward EXP. Their progress can be checked in the Datapad
• Player can save the game manually without going back to main menu or quit, but not during combat.
• Balancing the exp system for a more gradual EXP requirement curve to level up at higher levels
• Add option in the settings for Toggling blood decals on/off

Performance Optimizations

• Extensive code cleanup and optimization to reduce memory footprints
• Optimized text-camera rendering performance
• Optimized item-spawning code to reduce memory usage

Bugs

• Map icon missing (world repair and locked door)
• Damage reduction from armor will now show in status properly
• Fixed a bug that would cause "combat" state to last indefinitely
• Fixed Sonar Pulse infinite sound effect

We want to say a big THANK YOU again for the patience these last few months; we have been as frustrated by the delays in getting this lighting bug resolved as you have, and are happy to bring you this sneak peak at what you can look forward to on the Release branch soon. Let us know what you think of this beta in the comments, have fun!