Microsoft Grounded (aka "Honey, Obsidian Shrunk the Kids") - Information Thread, update: PS4/PS5/Switch release announced for April 16

[JPDunks4]

Just put in a good amount of time.

 

Really enjoyed it.  A lot of these style of games don't have stories, so the fact this has some minor story stuff is cool, but it is really really brief. 

 

It's a great foundation for the game, and they could really do a lot with it if they put the resources into it.

[XxEvil AshxX]

55 minutes ago, JPDunks4 said:

Just put in a good amount of time.

 

Really enjoyed it.  A lot of these style of games don't have stories, so the fact this has some minor story stuff is cool, but it is really really brief. 

 

It's a great foundation for the game, and they could really do a lot with it if they put the resources into it.

 

I also enjoyed the fact that there was a story. In fact, I was in it... until I reached the "end." Then I kind of just started wandering around aimlessly and trying to build something up. If I had to guess, I would say it's coming in "chapters" or at least the rest of the story may just not be finalized yet. I do hope it's lengthy, because the moment these games start relying on me to make my own fun, they lose me.

 

I really really wanted to like Conan Exiles, and apparently there is a story there, but it's paper thin and you don't even really get to experience it until you've put in x amount of time to really build up your fortress and craft higher tier weapons and armor. I never got there. I just created new character after new character and derp'd around making basic shit until I got bored again.

[JPDunks4]

14 minutes ago, XxEvil AshxX said:

 

I also enjoyed the fact that there was a story. In fact, I was in it... until I reached the "end." Then I kind of just started wandering around aimlessly and trying to build something up. If I had to guess, I would say it's coming in "chapters" or at least the rest of the story may just not be finalized yet. I do hope it's lengthy, because the moment these games start relying on me to make my own fun, they lose me.

 

I really really wanted to like Conan Exiles, and apparently there is a story there, but it's paper thin and you don't even really get to experience it until you've put in x amount of time to really build up your fortress and craft higher tier weapons and armor. I never got there. I just created new character after new character and derp'd around making basic shit until I got bored again.

Do you play solo or co-op?

 

Coop in these games is pretty essential.

[Keyser_Soze]

51 minutes ago, XxEvil AshxX said:

I also enjoyed the fact that there was a story. In fact, I was in it... until I reached the "end." Then I kind of just started wandering around aimlessly and trying to build something up. If I had to guess, I would say it's coming in "chapters" or at least the rest of the story may just not be finalized yet. I do hope it's lengthy, because the moment these games start relying on me to make my own fun, they lose me.

 

It's early access so like many early access games it could be up in the air till it actually releases 1.0 and you get a very robust story.

[XxEvil AshxX]

27 minutes ago, Keyser_Soze said:

 

It's early access so like many early access games it could be up in the air till it actually releases 1.0 and you get a very robust story.

 

Yeah I'm not worried. For what it's worth, it seems pretty stable. Granted I haven't actually started building anything yet, but the game runs a lot better that most of the game previews I've been a part of.

[Keyser_Soze]

I have a small shack made out of grass. I don't know if you need a floor or a completed roof but bugs will often spawn inside the house and then start tearing it up.

[XxEvil AshxX]

3 minutes ago, Keyser_Soze said:

I have a small shack made out of grass. I don't know if you need a floor or a completed roof but bugs will often spawn inside the house and then start tearing it up.

 

I can finally make a floor and a ceiling, so I'll try it tonight and see what happens lol.

[JPDunks4]

I was on for quite awhile tonight in my own World this time.  Time flies playing this.  Just get to start building my massive Fort, and hours flew by.

 

It's actually far deeper than I first thought playing with friends, as I wasn't paying much attention.  The different weapons you can craft with different perks, like poison or stun.  All the Armors having different perks as well for different kinds of tasks. 

 

They have a nice little game here for sure, and if they stick with it and just add more Bug/Enemy Variety, iron out the "bugs", and add to the story, I can see myself putting quite sometime into this.

 

I witnessed a war between the Ants and a Lady Bug.  It was a nice back and forth and I thought the Lady Bug might come out on top, but the Ants managed to win it.  I got lots of materials from all those that perished though!

[Keyser_Soze]

Everyone I see playing this game plays as Hoops. Is everyone Hoops? (I'm also hoops )

[JPDunks4]

Just building my massive base to the sky

 

Twitch Link

[jaethos]

12 hours ago, Keyser_Soze said:

Everyone I see playing this game plays as Hoops. Is everyone Hoops? (I'm also hoops )

I'm playing as Pete. The little quotes the characters give when you click on them turned me off of the others.

[Keyser_Soze]

5 hours ago, jaethos said:

I'm playing as Pete. The little quotes the characters give when you click on them turned me off of the others.

 

I watched Giant Bomb play it and when they started they all wanted to be Hoops too

[TheLeon]

+1 for Hoops

[JPDunks4]

https://clips.twitch.tv/PatientFragileCheeseBuddhaBar

 

A clip of my 30 story Tower.  I wonder if there is a max height for a base.

[XxEvil AshxX]

I've been playing the little dorky kid with the blonde hair. Hoops is wearing skinny jeans, and I just can't with that.

 

They do need more player skins.

[Keyser_Soze]

52 minutes ago, XxEvil AshxX said:

I've been playing the little dorky kid with the blonde hair. Hoops is wearing skinny jeans, and I just can't with that.

 

Hoops wears shorts.

[XxEvil AshxX]

23 minutes ago, Keyser_Soze said:

 

Hoops wears shorts.

 

I have no idea who Hoops is.

[Keyser_Soze]

5 minutes ago, XxEvil AshxX said:

 

I have no idea who Hoops is.

 

[Brian]

1 million players, monthly updates starting August 27

Thank you all! To show his thanks, Grounded's Game Director, Adam Brennecke, has a special message for everyone: pic.twitter.com/wBDriapsOC

— Grounded (@GroundedTheGame) July 31, 2020

[Keyser_Soze]

It needs that monthly update like right now though.

[Keyser_Soze]

Big 3 gig update today, I guess it really did need patching @ManUtdRedDevils despite your

 

Quote

Hello everyone!

We have just released patch 0.1.1 which includes some changes and fixes to enhance your gameplay.

Changes/fixes that you will see made to the game:

 

MAJOR ISSUES

 

• Made changes to make finding, joining, and hosting games with friends more reliable.
• We adjusted the handling of joining game failure (the game is full, the game no longer exists, etc.).
• Added a way to allow players to resolve the issue of the game logging the player into the wrong Xbox Live account on PC.
• Fixed issues with Windows 7 and Windows 8 users crashing when attempting to login. Those users should be able to load into the game after updating.
• Fixed crash when saving or loading and the "Autosave Count" number in the options is set to 0.
• We have implemented a fix for players who were getting stuck on the welcome popup screen and unable to move past it.
• Fixed characters not being saved occasionally in save games. NOT RETROACTIVE: Unfortunately we are not able to bring back lost items, but hopefully this fix will prevent this from occurring in the future. If you still experience this after the update, please contact us directly at support@obsidian.net so we can gather information to continue our investigation.

 

GAME

 

• Players will no longer be permanently stuck in spider webs after destroying them.
• Fixed BURG.L disappearing in some games if you attacked him and saved and loaded. RETROACTIVE: BURG.L will appear in the games he disappeared from, allowing players to interact with him again.
• Restoring save games that have lost progression state (ex. Oak Tree Lab doors no longer opening for players, Mysterious Machine not allowing players to hit buttons to finish the quest, time being frozen, etc.) RETROACTIVE: After updating the game, players should be able to load into their game and continue to progress. Should this issue happen again, logging out of the save and then loading back in should resolve the issue and allow you to continue playing.
• Fixed an issue with endless larva spawning over time. Larva were also spawning each time a spike trap was built. This update will not remove the larva that has already spawned into games, but the larva respawn rate has been fixed.
• Fixed issue where all item durability in your inventory incorrectly shows "full" when loading back into a game as a client.
• We implemented a fix for an issue where games that were saved before Raw Science started spawning prevented Raw Science from appearing later. It also included an update for a problem with Raw Science spawning after analyzing and having additional players collecting it on join. Due to this, players may notice that the starting Raw Science they previously collected has respawned.
• Fixed crashes when loading a saved game dealing with ant colonies.
• Removed kill Mosquito Burg.L quest NOT RETROACTIVE: Players will need to speak with BURG.L to abandon this quest. Then, during the next in-game day, you will be able to talk to BURG.L again to accept a new quest.
• Found the cause behind the issue where attempting to cook/dry an item slot with no item in it would crash the game.
• Found a fix for the occasional crash caused by dew drops that have items stuck in them. It also included a fix for dew drops exploding and causing a major FPS drops on clients.
• Fixed issue where clients dragging items from one slot in a storage basket to another would not reflect on the host causing item desync.
• Disabled storage baskets and smoothie stations from being able to be interacted with by multiple players at the same time until other desync issues we are working on are resolved.
• Block Tutorial now only plays once. @TheLeon
• Tuned Wolf Spider hearing and investigation AI to creep on the player less frequently.

 

UI

 

• UI changes made to the SCA.B OS screen.
• Fixed trail markers not showing up on the map, and an additional fix added to prevent the game crashing if you tried to navigate them in the legend.
• Reduced screen edge shimmer on Xbox One and Xbox One S under load.

 

[jaethos]

The only things on that list I experienced were the block tutorial, the sign markers not showing on the map and maybe the larva. I found a cave with a room completely full of them.

[JPDunks4]

IGN just reviewed this game, an Early Access title, and gave it a 6.0.

 

In that review, the writer stated that your game does not save your progress if you are playing on a friends server.  This is just false, as I've been playing on a friends server for most of my time with the game and always load in with all my items and where I last logged off.

 

On Twitter I brought this up and this is the response I got was, well if it didn't save his progress in his game, then he got it right.

 

So straight up lying about a core feature of the game rather than stating, "I may have experienced a bug and it didn't save my progress." is the way to go about reviewing a game to IGN.

 

 

[Keyser_Soze]

Strange to review this game and go in and when you get to the story content it is just like, come back another time and there will be a story!

[JPDunks4]

Just now, Keyser_Soze said:

Strange to review this game and go in and when you get to the story content it is just like, come back another time and there will be a story!

I mean IGN hasn't reviewed a lot of other Early Access titles.  So their rush to review this one is odd.  Probably because it's been a bit of a hit on social media and Twitch, and they know they can get a bunch of clicks getting a quick review out on it.

 

The game is still early so its impossible to really review, but I'm loving it so far.

[Keyser_Soze]

19 minutes ago, JPDunks4 said:

I mean IGN hasn't reviewed a lot of other Early Access titles.  So their rush to review this one is odd. 

 

Gotta strike while the SEO iron is hot!

[XxEvil AshxX]

18 hours ago, JPDunks4 said:

IGN just reviewed this game, an Early Access title, and gave it a 6.0.

 

In that review, the writer stated that your game does not save your progress if you are playing on a friends server.  This is just false, as I've been playing on a friends server for most of my time with the game and always load in with all my items and where I last logged off.

 

On Twitter I brought this up and this is the response I got was, well if it didn't save his progress in his game, then he got it right.

 

So straight up lying about a core feature of the game rather than stating, "I may have experienced a bug and it didn't save my progress." is the way to go about reviewing a game to IGN.

 

 

 

Even if his game was bugged, to review an Early Access game and rate it based on it's current state is fucking stupid.

 

IGN continuing to prove their irrelevancy.

[jaethos]

The new patch seems to have stopped my dew catchers and mushroom farms from working. I guess I'll take a break for a while. I am excited to go back as they add more stuff though.

[ort]

So this game is $30 AND you have to have Game Pass? I don't want game pass but I would pay probably $30 bucks for my kids to play it... BOO

 

Isn't Game Pass for a service free games? If I want to pay money for something, why do I also have to subscribe to the "free" game thing?

 

There's a lot on the Xbox I don't get anymore. I'm officially old.

 

EDIT: It looks like it is "free" with game pass, or $30 without... so never mind!

[TheLeon]

@ort

It’s included with Game Pass. If you don’t have Game Pass, you can buy it for $30.

[Keyser_Soze]

1 hour ago, TheLeon said:

@ort

It’s included with Game Pass. If you don’t have Game Pass, you can buy it for $30.

 

If you have game pass you can buy it for $30 as well!

[Keyser_Soze]

Quote

Patch 0.1.2 has been released. Included with it are the following changes and fixes we've made to the game:

 

MAJOR ISSUES

• Better handling of dismissing profile selection at the Main Menu on Xbox One and Windows 10 Store versions which will help prevent saved games from going missing for players on the Xbox console and Windows 10 store.
• Fixed an issue where if you had the "Kill Mosquito" quest prior to the patch 0.1.1 release where it wasn't removed properly and would crash if you killed a creature while that quest was active.
• Fixed crash with approaching a base with traps that have an insect being damaged by one when the player arrives.
• Resolved an issue that would cause random crashes with juice drop combining when approaching them.

GAME

• We cleared out excess larva from games that still had large numbers of larva in their game from the infinite larva respawn issue prior to patch 0.1.1.
• Fixed the "Drop All" function not properly splitting items.

ITEMS/EQUIPMENT/RESOURCES

• Resolved an issue with Mushroom Gardens, Dew Collectors, Acorns, and other resources not respawning after their initial spawns.
• Reverting the change, for now, to lock containers to one player at a time since it was causing containers to stay permanently locked occasionally
• Fixed an issue with Slime Mold Sconces not turning back on after loading back into a game.

UI

• Removed "Customize Marker" from the Loot Backpack UI that was causing crashes if used (was not supposed to be available on that screen)

 

[Pikachu]

 

 

[Keyser_Soze]

Quote

Hello everyone!

Today we released patch 0.2.1 for all players. Please update your game when you see that this update is available to receive the following fixes and changes:

 

PERFORMANCE

 

• Better render performance when dealing with dynamic shadow culling.

 

MAJOR

 

• Added a message that will notify PC players when their system clock does not match the server clock. This issue prevented these players from hosting or joining games.
• Save Games now show an icon indicating if that save was made while playing single-player or multiplayer. Affects only new saves going forward.
• More accurate handling of cloud save upload/deletion for Xbox and Win 10 Store versions of the game.
• Save Game max storage on Xbox / Win 10 has been increased from 256 MB to 1GB (takes effect on reinstall).
• Fixed issue with saves triggered while having an unplaced building blueprint could cause the save not to be able to load.

 

GENERAL

 

• Included gas damage effect that was missing from the Fresh Defense mutation.
• Fixed items that are moving around with physics at the time of save not being saved into save games.
• Fixed clients not being able to see other players aim their bodies when they look up and down.
• Added Acorn Shovel+ recipe and Pebblet Foundation recipes that will become available at BurgL's Tech Chip Swap Shop when completing the Chipslueth Cold Blooded BURG.L quest by turning in the Stained BURG.L Chip.
• Enlarged mint container and resized the mints to make them slightly smaller so players can get into the Ice Cap container more easily.
• Collectible SCA.Bs properly disappear on clients when picked up.
• Included a fix for the missing leaves throughout the world.
• Slime Mold Stalk patches properly disappear on clients when the entire stalk is collected.

 

WILDLIFE

 

• Water Fleas no longer leave the water to fly around the backyard.

 

ITEMS/EQUIPMENT/RESOURCES

 

• Added a unique icon to the Simple Bed.
• Gas Arrows can now be picked up as regular arrows after being shot.
• Gas Arrows now deal twice as much damage.
• Gas Arrow recipe now produces 2 arrows instead of 1.
• Feather Arrow recipe now produces 2 arrows instead of 1.
• Fixed an issue where players would respawn inside the Simple Bed instead of next to it.
• Weapons now do the proper damage type when thrown.
• Fixed Tropicop juice box not spawning juice drops from the straw.

 

UI

 

• Adjusted the interactable highlight to be less intrusive.
• Fixed a certain key item showing an audio log model instead of a sheet of paper model.

 

Editing in because not worth a bump (September 10)

 

Quote

PATCH 0.2.2 HAS BEEN RELEASED

 

Hello everyone!

 

Today we released hotfix patch 0.2.2 for all players. This patch includes the following change:

 

• Fixed an issue introduced in 0.2.1 that caused some saves to fail to load for some players.

 

[Keyser_Soze]

Quote

Tomorrow, September 30th, we will be releasing Update 0.3.0 around 10am PDT / 1pm EDT. Included in the patch are the following changes and fixes we've made to the game:

 

NEW FEATURES

 

• The Hedge has been revamped with new content
• New Building: Zip-lines
• New Building: Spinning Wheel
• New Building: Signs
• New World Landmark: Frankenline
• Halloween Additions: Jack-o-Lantern landmark, Candy Corn food item
• Localization for French, German, Spanish, and Italian (more to come at a later date)
• New spider webs that stick to unsuspecting players and critters

 

CHANGES/GAME TUNING

 

Engine

• UE4 Version Upgrade

Combat

• Ant Soldiers have a set of new attacks
• Ant Soldiers now deal more damage with their attacks
• TAYZ.Ts now deal much more damage with their attacks
• Most armors now block more damage
• All weapons have had their damage, stamina cost, and durability adjusted to fit a stricter Tier-based curve
• Bombardier Beetle burning hazards and Stink Bug gas hazards are now much deadlier
• Bombardier Beetle attacks deal less initial damage (end result should be about the same combined with hazard damage change)
• Fresh Defense perk now blocks twice as much gas and burning damage
• Reliable Friend perk now boosts revive speed by roughly double the amount
• Trying out new combat AI to reduce the effectiveness of circle-strafing

Interface

• Processing buildings such as the Campfire now show the progress of each item in the interface, and allow items to be canceled
• The Recycle Building interface now shows how many structures will collapse if the target building is Recycled
• Contextual slurping text informs you what liquid you're going to taste
• Additional icon art
• The Interact UI will no longer briefly appear enabled when looking at a disabled interaction
• Clearer labeling of game modes/type in save/load UIs
• Game no longer asks to overwrite a save if you are not able to currently save the game

World

• New perks to discover and unlock
• New SCA.B color themes to discover and unlock
• Stumps left behind no longer prevent foliage from respawning
• Grass will not respawn if the stump is removed
• Ants now have a desire to take back their stolen eggs
• Ant eggs can now hatch even after being moved by the player (but not while in an inventory)
• Ant eggs no longer stack in the inventory
• Larva wander range is now much smaller during the day
• Mushrooms in the world now take much longer to grow back
• Meats now take much longer to spoil
• SCA.Bs that have been moved since prior patches will reflect those moves in older saves
• Mint chunks in the Mint container should no longer spawn on top of the container
• Juice boxes stop spawning juice if a droplet spawned by them is still sitting in the world
• Removed the Broodmother from the hedge (for now...)
• Added Harvest VFX to Hedgeberry

Buildings

• Structural buildings are now fully allowed to overlap with any static environment object
• Blueprint buildings in the air cannot be completed unless a supporting building has been completed. This prevents situations where large structures would collapse because they were technically unsupported
• Buildings can no longer be built inside of tables
• Buildings can be placed more easily on the pond flagstones now
• Mushroom Garden spawn timer will now start when the building is built instead of when it is placed
• Smoke from torches, wall sconces, and campfires should now rarely penetrate floors/ceilings
• Plank/Log Storage deposit sound effects now play on clients
• The player will no longer play canteen animations when building a Water Container with a canteen in hand
• Clay foundation now has double the health
• Pebblet foundation now has less health, but still more than clay

Crafting

• Most recipes that require spiderweb have been refactored to use a processed spider web obtainable via the new Spinning Wheel instead

Performance

• Improved CPU performance of large bases and structures

Other

• Additional water caustic effects
• Bird feathers now float in water
• Weed stems now float in water
• The "Drop" control can now be rebound
• The "Swim Up" and "Swim Down" control bindings are allowed to overlap with other controls that cannot be used while swimming

 

BUG FIXES - ALL PLATFORMS

 

Top Community Issues

• Free buildings attached to player-built structures will no longer become out-of-position for clients
• The game will no longer crash in some specific cases when demolishing a plank or log storage building
• Ants will no longer spawn in excessively large quantities

Game

• Alchemist BURG.L Quests will complete when accepted if the player has already analyzed the target item
• Kill based perks now only track kills on enemies
• Fixed issue with encounters not respawning creatures if they fell through the world in a prior save
• Hiding Interact prompt "E" or "X" when looking at a Locked / Stuck door

Items/Equipment/Resources

• Berry Chunks will no longer inflate themselves when subjected to a strong impact while lying on the ground
• Traps can no longer be triggered for a few seconds after destruction
• Traps can no longer be triggered by the 3rd-person camera
• Tropicop juice droplets should now correctly spawn from the straw of the juice box instead of from the base
• Bombardier Head Trophy should now be much easier to place

World

• Building ingredients will no longer remaining floating in the air when large structures collapse while no player is nearby
• Got rid of a small bump in collision while walking up and down player built stairs
• Bombardier Beetle now plays a sleep animation while sleeping instead of playing the stunned animation

UI

• Various camera animation adjustments were made to reduce the camera clipping into objects and the player's body
• Hiding Interact prompt "E" or "X" when looking at a Locked / Stuck door

Audio

• Buildings no longer create noise events immediately after loading a saved game
• Chatter audio is now attached to the player character and should sound better when moving

Ominent Practical Technologies

• Removed [REDACTED]
• Added [REDACTED]