Removed the outdated libSDL2-2.0 from the linux build.

Fixed a potential issue on OSX and linux.

Hey Everyone!

Today we're releasing a beta update for Portal Stories: Mel that should resolved various issues:

• Fixed lighting issues with modern AMD GPUs.
  
• Added Vulcan support for the Linux build.
  
• Fixed wrong icon showing up on windows.
  
• Removed confirmation prompts for graphics settings.

We're aware of an issue where the inside of the container blocks the visibility of the door at the start of chapter 2, on certain AMD GPUs, and are currently investigating a solution.

If you want to participate in the beta, and let us know if you're experiencing any issues:

1. Right click Portal Stories: Mel in your Steam library
   
2. Select properties.
   
3. Go to the betas tab
   
4. Select "beta - Public beta branch"

This should download an update that's about ~35mb on windows. And even less on other platforms.

Please let us know if you're experiencing any issues in the beta branch!

~Anna

Hey Everyone,

Good news! Today we've pushed a couple of updates to Portal Stories: Mel and its soundtrack, so they are now available separately! As an additional bonus, we've added four new tracks to the soundtrack:

• Troubled Water (Trailer Theme)
  
• Waking Up To Science (menu)
  
• Adjacency (menu)
  
• System Corruption (alternate)
  
• Time and Time Again

If you search your Steam library, the Portal Stories: Mel Soundtrack should now show up, ready for you to download. If it doesn't: you can now get the soundtrack directly from Steam, without having to install Portal Stories: Mel first!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/322420/Portal_Stories_Mel_Soundtrack/

We hope you enjoy the soundtrack!

- Anna

Hey everyone,

Today we've released a small update to the Linux version of Portal Stories: Mel.

This fixes an incorrect launch parameter, which should resolve a lot of launching issues on Linux.

We've also removed libc++.6.so , which also caused a lot of issues in specific Linux versions.

Today we are proud to release The Captives: Plot of the Demiurge on Steam after over a year and a half of production. This is our first commercial game since releasing the award winning Portal Stories: Mel.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/666630/The_Captives_Plot_of_the_Demiurge/

The Captives: Plot of the Demiurge is a game set in a fantasy world and features Souls-like combat mechanics, compelling storytelling and the ability to customise a new character before each new level. However, in a unique twist, after completing a level all your previously customised characters continue to exist within the game world. Thus, rather than a single protagonist, you will be developing a whole cast of characters to interact with throughout the game!

• Character customisation of appearance, stats and weapons
  
• Souls-like combat
  
• Levelling choices in each dungeon
  
• Focus on storytelling

Replay the game with special Challenge Runs, combinations of unique modifiers to the game.
These include Roguelike Challenge which randomizes your build each time you play through the dungeons and Soul Challenge which restricts the number of checkpoints in the game and changes how healing works.

With a variety of individual modifiers you can also tweak the game to create your own challenge runs or make things a little easier if you get stuck.

Prism Studios is a small video game company based in Northern Ireland. In 2015, we released the Portal Stories: Mel mod for Valve’s Portal 2 game which was downloaded by over 1 million unique users. Now we are hoping to follow that success with our current project, The Captives: Plot of the Demiurge.

Getting this game to the finish line has been a challenge, especially since we are a tiny team trying to transition from the creation of an award-winning mod to a commercial product. Working without any budget or outside investment for over a year and half means that this project has been very much a labour of love!

You can keep up to date with our projects via

Twitter: https://twitter.com/PrismStudiosUK

Hey everyone,

We're happy to announce that we've launched our Steam Store page for our upcoming game The Captives: Plot of the Demiurge. You can add the game to your wishlist and follow the page to keep up-to-date with the development of the game there.


Steam Page for The Captives: Plot of the Demiurge.

Hey everyone,

Today's updates adds Ukrainian translations to the game.
Huge shoutout to Rayfulrand and SHooZ for providing the translations!

Hello Everyone!

With development progressing steadily, it’s time to announce the full name of our next game!

The Captives: Plot of the Demiurge is set during a struggle between two opposing ideologies. After Prince Pico and the city-state of Volturno leave the anti-magic Tetrarchy to explore the alluring possibilities of the magic sciences, the other states band together to retake Volturno and stop whatever scheme Pico may have begun with his newly-acquired arcane knowledge...

You play as convicted prisoners, drafted into the Tetrarch’s army to undertake missions against Prince Pico’s forces and collect intelligence concerning his masterplan. While each prisoner has their own individual personality and backstory, all share one goal: to complete their assigned objectives and earn their freedom.

The Captives: Plot of the Demiurge is an action-adventure game with a variety of carefully crafted levels. You will start by creating your character for each particular level. You can customize the character’s name, stats, weapon and appearance, giving each character you play a unique feel.

After each level your personalized character gets added to the story’s cast of NPCs whom you can then talk to and interact with. As the story grows, so too does your cast of previous player characters.

When you create your character you will choose from a variety of weapons and distribute your skill points amongst four stats. Since your available skill points are limited, you will have to think carefully about how you invest them.

The four stats of the Captives are:

• Health
  Health helps your character survive damage – pretty straight forward! A character with lots of health will allow you more room for mistakes while a character with little health will have to be more careful to avoid damage.
  
• Stamina
  Stamina is used for each action in the game: attacking, defending and dodging. A character with lots of stamina will be able to chain together many attacks while a character with little stamina will have to be more tactical and patient.
  
• Focus
  Focus prevents your character from being staggered by enemy attacks. A character with lots of focus will be able to shrug off damage while swinging away at enemies while a character with little focus should try to fight enemies one at a time.
  
• Movement
  Movement determines the speed at which your character moves. A character with a lot of movement will be able to dance around their foes while a character with little movement will have to time their aggression carefully.

All the numbers in The Captives are very low so that the difference between spending a single stat point in health over movement can change the feel of how your character plays significantly.

It’s not possible to create a character that's good at everything. By trying out different combinations of stats and weapons, each character you create will have a distinct play-style and require different strategies to defeat your enemies.

The combat of The Captives is real-time tactical action in the style of the Zelda or Souls games. Anticipation and timing is a consistent key to success, although each character you create will require different approaches depending on how you invested your skill points.

Playing as a character with lots of health, focus and a massive claymore over their shoulders may allow you to crush the helmets of your foes while being ambushed on all sides.

As a character with plenty of stamina and movement, together with a short dagger you will have more success dodging around your enemies and stabbing them in the back.

Because you will play as multiple characters you can experiment with different weapons and stats and explore what the combat has to offer within a single playthrough, instead of being locked into one playstyle for the entire game.

We simply don’t know exactly yet! This is our first original game and there’s still a lot of work for us to do. During development we’ve learned lots of new skills and it’s been a really enjoyable project to work on. We hope to release the game in the first half of next year but ultimately we’ll release it when the game is ready and we’re confident it is really fun to play!

We hope to have given you a little bit of insight into the current development of the Captives: Plot of the Demiurge. If you want to find out more about the project as it gets created you can follow us on social media for weekly updates!

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