Spiral Game Studios

Spiral Update - May 2012

Mon, 28 May 2012 12:31:00 -0500

Here is the big update! We have had one crazy month what with the first release and everything that followed. We have been working hard this month getting out hotfix updates (1.1, 1.1a, 1.1b, 1.1c, 1.1d) to help square away a few key issues and we have already made over 100 tweaks, changes and adjustments via five patches. You can view the full list of changes here.

TITLE UPDATE 001

We are currently working on one last patch aimed to come out this week (1.1e). We are also working on the first of many major game updates - the Title Updates.

Theses are the large updates that will significantly shape, sculpt and add content to the game for absolutely no cost what-so-ever. The biggest additions for Title Update 001 include:

PERSISTENCE IS COMING!
Persistence will be fully implemented with Title Update 2. We are adding connections in Title Update 1 which will track all progress and then apply it towards Title Update 2.
32BIT OS SUPPORT
Title Update 001 will introduce full Windows 32Bit OS Support.
HUGE PERFORMANCE TWEAKS
On all game areas including Textures, Particles, Audio & A.I.
NEW GAME MODE & 3 NEW MAPS
We are introducing three new levels as well as the ‘Adrenaline Survival’ game mode.
NEW AUDIO & AUDIO SYSTEMS
We are introducing new audio for Dinosaurs, Weapons, Vehicles, Items and Environments as well as implementing new volume range and audio levels.
STEAM INCENTIVES
Steam Incentives will be unlocked with Title Update 001. This is for anyone that purchases ‘ORION: Dino Beatdown’ by July 1st, 2012.
IMPROVED A.I & PATHFINDING
We are improving the Dinosaur Artificial Intelligence AND improving how they navigate the environments.
NEW GAME MECHANICS
We are introducing two major new mechanics that will shift the gameplay which include the “Generator Shutdown” and the new “Respawn Systems”.
+ MANY OTHER TWEAKS, ADJUSTMENTS AND ADDITIONS.

STEAM INCENTIVES & STEAM DISCOUNT

Due to some of the issues that plagued our initial launch we had extended the Launch Discount (10%) for an additional week. On top of this we have worked with Steam to do some incentives for all of you folks who have bought the game all the way up until the first Title Update is released! So if you purchase ‘ORION: Dino Beatdown’ between May 4th and July 1st you will receive the following items:

Black Legion Armor & Color
Purple Reign Armor & Color
Access to the ‘ORION: Prelude Multiplayer Beta (2013)
3 Tracks from the ORION: Dino Beatdown Official Soundtrack

VERSION 1.1D LIVE NOW! VERSION 1.1E COMING!

We put out Version 1.1D late last week and it is now live. This was a quick fix to help aid some peformance issues as well as incorporated some major additions including:

Ability to Drop Credits.
Ability to Drop Weapons.
Xbox 360 Gamepad Support.

You can read the full post here.

We are aiming to get a Version 1.1E out this week and then it’s on to full development for Title Update 1.

DEDICATED SERVER SUPPORT VIA STEAM

With the release of Version 1.1D we have also made available the Steam Tool for ORION: Dino Beatdown Dedicated Server Support. If you own the game you will be able to load up Steam, go to the ‘Tools’ tab and see the ‘ORION: Dino Beatdown Dedicated Server’. This will automagically update just as your Dino Beatdown Client.

STUDIO OPENING

We are extremely proud to announce this next segment. We have been working very hard for many years to get to this point and most importantly we have achieved it independently. While it won’t be large off the start by any means, we will be filtering in (roll-out) over the next year and two.

What does this mean? We will not only have the key developers in the same country and time zone - but in the same room. We will be faster, more efficient and better communicated among one-another. This means faster updates for you guys and just an overall level of polish.

ONLIVE VERSION

The OnLive Version sadly had to see another delay due to our immediate focus shifting towards the HotFix updates for all of May. The good news is that all of the fixes, optimization, polish and additions will be (of course) applied towards the OnLive version of the game. We are hard at work on Title Update 001 and are looking to get the OnLive version incorporated by around Title Update 003.

SPIRAL IS HIRING (PAID POSITIONS)

With the success of ORION: Dino Beatdown we are able to open up a few new positions for key developers. You will be working directly on ORION: Dino Beatdown AND ORION: Prelude. These are Paid, Remote, Freelance positions. The following positions are available:

3D ARTIST - Characters & Creatures
3D ENVIRONMENTS - Hard Surface & Organic
ANIMATOR - Characters & Creatures
TECHNICAL - Rigging & Skeletons
FLASH / GUI - ScaleForm Artist
WEB - Web Developer & Designer
LEVEL DESIGNER - Maps & Worlds.

TO APPLY:
Send application with a resume, CV and work examples to:
jobs@spiralgamestudios.com

Purchase ORION: Dino Beatdown
Talk about ORION: Dino Beatdown

Version 1.1d HotFix LIVE!

Thu, 24 May 2012 19:56:00 -0500

As always we have been hard at work and are happy to say that Version 1.1d is now live on Steam. Your client should be updated automatically.

This is a rather large hotfix which not only fixes a few things but also adds a few new features early including:

Weapon Dropping (‘L’ Key)
Credit Dropping (‘K’ Key)
Xbox 360 Controller Support
Dedicated Server File Support (via Steam Tools)

DEDICATED SERVER FILES (VERSION 1.1d)

These files are now available via Steam Tools. These will automatically update every time just as your Player Client does.

VERSION 1.1d FULL CHANGELOG

01 - Fixed bug that resulted in players getting stuck on a mysterious ‘Wave 21’.
02 - Fixed scope staying visible through death.
03 - Fixed hacking audio not stopping.
04 - Added Ability - Weapon Drops (Manual = keybound / Auto = on death).
05 - Added Ability - Credit Drops.
06 - Added Xbox 360 Controller Pad Support.
07 - Added ‘Game Options’.
08 - Added Arrow / Enter and 360 Controller Support to In-Game Menus (not Main Menu yet).
09 - Fixed bug where damage indicators were not displaying.
10 - Hoverbike no longer can push heavier vehicles (vehicle weight hierarchy).
11 - Fixed bug where the ‘Hummer’ Ability Upgrade wasn’t working.
12 - Fixed bug where the Rham would twitch while flying.
13 - Fixed texture issue with Character Class Models and 3rd Person Weapon Models swapping upon switch.
14 - Added a delay between radio commands (fire in the hole!).
15 - Reduced Raptor bite damage and made it more consistent.
16 - Reduced amount of air control while jumping to reduce speed.
17 - Reduced Gladiator Buggy muzzle flash.
18 - Added teammate indicators for Mechs and VTOLs.
19 - Tweaked player exiting Gladiator Buggy locations.
20 - Fixed bug with ‘Tight Pennies’ Achievement not working properly.
21 - Fixed bug with ‘The Wanderer’ Achievement not being given correctly.
22 - HUD Icons and HUD Awareness now available to Spectators.
23 - Added ‘Ammo Remaining’ number to HUD.
24 - Added ‘Connect to IP feature to Server Browser.
25 - Tweaked Rham & T-Rex Collision values.
26 - Fixed issue with the Raptor trying to run through mountains to get to the generators.
27 - Fixed bug with some animations not being replicated to clients.
28 - Fixed bug that resulted players in creating games with port 0 and having no one able to join.
29 - Changed ‘Exit and Save’ and ‘Exit and Continue’ functionality to avoid a crash when changing windows.
30 - Fixed bug with the health number showing an incorrect value when getting into a vehicle.
31 - Fixed Mech Stomp kills not being counted towards the Achievement.
32 - Fixed bug where the Server Browser was displaying the incorrect number of in-game players.
33 - Fixed issue with the audio not being set to the right levels on game start-up.
34 - Made all UI single-click (instead of double-click).
35 - Tweaked Raptor Swarm.

Version 1.1b HotFix LIVE!

Sat, 12 May 2012 18:12:00 -0500

We just wrapped up a quick hotfix to address some main issues that we wanted to get live for the weekend. It’s another quick hotfix (1.1b) to hold you guys over as e crank away on the big Version 1.2 which will be incorporating not only new things but addressing a whole slew of other aspects using both fan and developer feedback.

This update is now LIVE via Steam. It should automatically update for you.

DEDICATED SERVER FILES - 1.1b
FULL DOWNLOAD - 331MB

DEDICATED SERVER FILES - 1.1a - 1.1b
PATCH UPGRADE - 17.6MB

VERSION 1.1b CHANGELOG:

01 - Added Device: OSOR Teleporter. Used for Stuck Prevention.
02 - Added Filtering / Sorting to the Server Browser.
03 - Added potential quick-fix for joining games as a spectator (bug)
04 - Added potential quick-fix for Wave getting stuck and not progressing.
05 - Improved Rham grab by making them drop you less frequently under the world.
06 - Reduced the numbers of Dinosaurs in a wave (slightly - scaled by difficulty & player count).
07 - Mechs can now be healed.
08 - Fixed achievements that were not being triggered properly.
09 - Hitting raptors in a vehicle slows you down slightly.
10 - Increased Hoverbike turbo speed by 2X.
11 - Fixed issues where some keys were not being bound in the Options.
12 - Vehicle mini gun audio now replicated properly.
13 - Disabled logging to increase performance.

Dino Beatdown - Version 1.1a Patch (LIVE!)

Wed, 09 May 2012 12:37:00 -0500

Just a heads-up. We pushed out a hotfix over night (Version 1.1a) that fixed some immediate gameplay issues while we work on Version 1.2.

Fixed hitbox - T-Rex.
Fixed hitbox - Rham.
Changed HUD. Wave Dino Icons (red) now in HUD Awareness (F Key).

DEDICATED SERVER FILES (1.1a)

We have also created a Dedicated Server update patch (15mb) that will allow you to bring your 1.1 server over to 1.1a.

DOWNLOAD 1.1 FULL SERVER FILES (300+mb)
http://cdn.parkersamp.com/sgs/orion/DinoBeatdownServerv1.1.rar
DOWNLOAD 1.1a PATCH (15mb)
http://www.orion-project.net/developers/Gundy/DinoBeatdownServerv1.1Patch.rar

Dino Beatdown - Version 1.1 (LIVE!)

Tue, 08 May 2012 22:28:24 -0500

The time has FINALLY come, everyone. We have been hard at work on developing the first immediate patch to restore and resolve all of the issues you guys have been experiencing in the release of ORION: Dino Beatdown.

THANK YOU, EPIC & STEAM!

We feel absolutely horrible about what some of you guys had to go through over the last couple of days but we have not stopped. We also want to give HUGE thanks to both STEAM and Epic for assisting us with the resolution of all of this. There is absolutely no way we could have done this as quickly without all of their assistance. Next time you see them make sure to give them a hug.

VERSION 1.1 - CHANGE-LOG

01 - Restructured Dinosaur Waves completely
02 - Fixed Dino World Spawners (Orange Triangles)
03 - Add the ability to purchase a respawn (2500CR on Easy, 5000CR on any other difficulty)
04 - Fixed Gladiator Buggy handling & suspension
05 - Fixed Gladiator Bug where you couldn’t aim down
06 - Added Server Browser Filters (Full, Empty, Passworded) (More to come)
07 - Added Server Browser Sorting
08 - Reduced T-Rex health by 25%
09 - Reduced Rham health by 25%
10 - Modified Difficulty Levels
a - Easy mode now gives double credits earned
b - Hard mode spawns more dinos and dinos have 2X Health
11 - Increased Melee Damage
12 - Added New Achievement Icons
13 - Fixed Crash: Server Browser bug on hitting refresh, stop and connect buttons.
14 - Added pop-up window when you cannot connect (with proper reason)
15 - Fixed Phantom Player bug causing servers to show up as full when they’re not
16 - Raptors now attack buggies properly
17 - Fixed T-Rex spawn bug that was causing WAY too many of them
18 - Changed death noise for each Dinosaur
19 - Changed Hit Impact audio for successful hit
20 - Fixed replication bug that was making generators appear smaller than they should
21 - Touched up lighting on Generators
22 - Decreased credit earning for killing a Rham to 400
23 - Made kill assist points based on dino credit score instead of 100
24 - Relocated Wave Incoming UI to use the TIP Tool Bar (Top-Left)
25 - Increased time between waves from 10 seconds to 30 seconds
26 - Fixed FOV bug when a player tries to set a custom value
27 - Fixed mouse sensitivity slider.
28 - Fixed volume sliders.
29 - Fixed other general menu UI bugs.
30 - Added a Video Option for increasing the draw distance on grass & foliage
31 - NumPad keys can now be bound with NumLock on.
32 - Right CTRL and SHIFT are now bind-able.
33 - Fixed an issue with some users experiencing extremely blocky (retro looking) graphics.
34 - First Person Legs now affected by Healing and Cloaking effects.
35 - Altered the way players exit a VTOL. Should greatly reduce instances of players falling through the map.
+ Other small and general fixes and touch ups.

VERSION 1.1 - DEDICATED SERVER FILES

We are also releasing updated server files that will allow you guys to create servers for you and all of your friends.

DOWNLOAD:
http://cdn.parkersamp.com/sgs/orion/DinoBeatdownServerv1.1.rar

INSTRUCTION:
http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?p=30665585#post30665585

INCENTIVES (WORK IN PROGRESS)

We are currently trying to figure out some great incentives for the people who purchased the game from the day it launched until the patch goes live. We still need to get this confirmed by Steam to make sure we can do this but the current goal is to give all the early adopters a nice “Incentive Package” for their troubles:

Color Name (in-game)
Color Armor (in-game)
Beta Access to ORION: Prelude (when ready)
3 Tracks from the Official Soundtrack (now on iTunes)

You can currently see some of the voting going on for which color the community wants the most over at:
http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2689928

We are also trying to work with Steam to see if we can get an extension for the 10% discount to cover lost time.

NOTES - 64BIT / 32BIT

Right now this patch only officially fixes the build for 64bit OS users. There is currently a hotfix for the 32bit users that you can use to play the game until we are able to put in the more “natural” fix by Patch 2 or by Patch 3 which will take quite a bit more time.

NOTES - HOTFIX FOR 32BIT USERS

CAUTION: This is a rather extreme fix. It’s proven to work however we suggest removing it when not playing. To do this simply reset the command but instead of using ‘3072’ set it back to ‘2048’.

1. Open command prompt with Administrator rights. To do this, go to Programs, Accessories, right-click on Command Prompt and select “Run as Administrator.”
2. Enter the following at the prompt and press enter: bcdedit /set IncreaseUserVA 3072
3. Close the prompt and restart the computer.

SO WHAT EXACTLY HAPPENED? (FAN EXPLANATION)

We had an incredible Steam Community user (SpyKirby) create an incredible visual diagram of what exactly caused all of this madness. It covers every little detail:

SO WHAT REALLY HAPPENED?
The Review Build that was sent out this last Monday (Apr 30) was perfectly fine and functional. From Monday to Friday morning (3am) we were working hard on updates, polish and more fixes on top of this to have it all that much greater for the public seed version.

After we had submitted the update to Steam there was a game directory name change that created some weird inconsistencies which ultimately created quite a few problems for some users. Many of the early adopters were getting multiple install folders (the old / new) and we ran into a few extra issues that weren’t even present in the review build.

THANKS TO EPIC & STEAM
We all need to give a shout out to both Steam and Epic for assisting with these fixes and restoring it back to proper order for you guys.

FAST-ACTING!
Once we realized what happened (very quickly) we immediately posted an update to make you guys aware and worked very hard to stay in constant communication with all of you to let you know what was going on. We also emailed all of the press and reviewers for the game to let them know what happened and to have both them and their readers try to wait for the Patch. It was messy but we handeld it the best we could and I couldn’t be more proud of the guys at Spiral for keeping it all under control over these very hectic last hours.

PATCH 2 / PATCH 3

We are thrilled to have gotten Patch 1 out as quickly as we did. The main focus of Patch 1 is to resolve all major issues and make sure that people can fully play the product they paid for. It was a hectic weekend but we prevailed.

We are now working on a Patch 2 and Patch 3 which will incorporate a significant amount of small changes, additions, tweaks, fixes and polish. You can expect some cool new features including the ability to Drop Weapons and even Drop Credits.

ORION: DINO BEATDOWN SOUNDTRACK @ iTUNES

The Soundtrack has finally been made available via iTunes. Go check it out:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/orion-dino-beatdown-official/id524986272

The music of ORION: Dino Beatdown is the creation of two genius minds: Aakaash Rao and Selcuk Bor. Show them some good ‘ol lovin’!

FOUND SOMETHING WEIRD / GLITCHY?

As mentioned this game is very much a ‘Seed’ game. By this I mean it will be constantly growing and evolving. While we have our own planned agenda of content additions and changes we also are going to be constantly including and communicating with you guys as incorporating some of your changes and suggestions into the game as well. This is very much a community game so we appreciate your support and feedback.

If you find something funky you can approach it with the two following methods:

Email us directly - WTF@spiralgamestudios.com
Post on the Spiral Community:
http://spiralforums.com/viewforum.php?f=80

ORION: Dino Beatdown - Patch 1 Coming!

Sat, 05 May 2012 14:10:00 -0500

Just a quick and official message addressing the problems some users are experiencing. We are working hard on a patch that will resolve all current major issues people are having with the game.

We ran into a last minute glitch that resulted in some of this chaotic game behavior where a game directory name was changed resulting in some links and connectivity breaking. This resulted in some erratic behavior which will all be resolved on Monday. We are very sorry for the inconvenience this caused for some of you but rest assured it’ll be a distant nightmare very shortly.

Follow all updates and interactions on the Spiral Facebook or Spiral Community.

ORION: Dino Beatdown Released!

Fri, 04 May 2012 08:46:00 -0500

We are extremely proud to announce that the first version of ORION: Dino Beatdown has been officially made available via Steam today!

SPIRAL COMMITMENT
We have been working hard on getting this ready and are extremely excited of getting the game into your hands for the first time. This version is considerd the Day 1 Release which is a ‘Seed‘ version of the game. We are going to be adding constant and consistent FREE Title Updates which will further evolve, polish and improve your gaming experience.

QUICK FACTS:
RELEASE DATE: Today (Friday, May 4, 2012)
PLATFORMS: Steam
STORE PAGE: http://store.steampowered.com/app/104900/

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION:

‘ORION: Dino Beatdown’ is an Open World, Class-Based Cooperative Survival Sci-Fi FPS. The game puts five players together in huge, endless environments in which they must work together to accomplish objectives and survive the devastating Dinosaur Horde.

Players earn in-game credits which can be used to upgrade their abilities, purchase new weapons, unlock weapon upgrades and call in vehicles in order to ensure survival.

Experience the future as never before. Make use of Jetpacks, Medic Guns, Cloaking Devices and equip yourself with state-of-the-art weapons ranging from Shotguns, Machine Guns, Rocket Launchers, Laser Rifles. If that isn’t enough then simply tear up the environments in a number of vehicles ranging from Hover Bikes, Buggies, Mechs, Tanks and VTOL’s.

PRICING

Here are the official prices for the game in it’s various forms. For the first week of sales we are offering a 10% discount on both styles so make sure to grab it while you can!

SINGLE GAME:

USD: $9.99
GB Pounds: £6.99
EU Zone 1: €9.99
EU Zone 2: €6.99
Rubles: 249p.
CIS / China: $7.99

FOUR-PACK:

USD: $29.95
GB Pounds: £20.95
EU Zone 1: €29.95
EU Zone 2: €20.95
Rubles: 745p.
CIS/China: $23.95

OFFICIAL TRAILER

FAN REACTION COMMUNITY TRAILER

THE OFFICIAL SOUNDTRACK

We are also putting live the official soundtrack for the game. This epic piece of tune was a collaborative effort between the likes of Aakaash Rao and Selcuk Bor. It is a 10-track album and available for only $4.49 via Bandcamp (waiting on iTunes certification):
http://spiralgamestudios.bandcamp.com/album/orion-dino-beatdown-ost

GAME SERVERS & DEDICATED SERVER FILES

We are putting live 100 servers over the next 24 hours. We currently have ten live and more rolling out on a regular basis. We will continue adding servers as the population grows.

CURRENT SERVERS:

173.234.253.18:8877
188.165.226.173:6777
206.217.128.2:7777
206.217.139.194:7837
206.217.143.250:7777
208.122.52.210:7777
213.163.83.191:7777
66.225.231.10:7777
72.249.142.130:7897
8.17.252.10:7837
88.198.17.4:7777
88.198.17.4:7837

DEDICATED SERVER FILES
On top of this we are putting out Dedicated Server Files that will allow you guys to host your own World Servers for ORION: Dino Beatdown. On top of this you can also create your own listen server from inside the game in which your friends can join.

DOWNLOAD:
http://www.orion-project.net/developers/Gundy/DinoBeatdownServerMay4.rar

INSTRUCTIONS:
http://spiralforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=80&t=2280

TUTORIALS, VIDEO DOCS & USER MANUALS

ORION: Dino Beatdown is an exciting new take on Cooperative Survival. The gameplay experience is like no other and we understand that there may be confusion for some new players right off the bat. We are here to help!

PLAYER MANUAL
We have put together a quick overview via the User Manual that will help you get quickly acquainted with the game and what to do in these huge open worlds. View it below:
http://www.orion-project.net/developers/dprassel/DinoBeatdown_Manual.pdf

VIDEO DOCS
On top of this we have put together three video documentaries over the last couple of weeks that will help you get familiar with all of the content in the game including the Worlds, Dinosaurs, Player Classes, Weapons, Vehicles and plenty more. We encourage that you watch these so you can help other players get comfortable within the game:

VIDEO DOC 001 - GAME OVERVIEW

VIDEO DOC 002 - PLAYER CLASSES & GEAR

VIDEO DOC 003 - DINOSAURS & WORLDS

PATCH NOTES (REVIEW TO COMMERCIAL)

We are constantly working on the game and have made a new patch available this morning for all the Press and early players (KickStarter, Early Bird Contest). Here is the official change-log from the newest patch:

01 - Added Tweak: Taunt goes third person
02 - Added: Tutorial
03 - Added UI: Class Selection Screen
04 - Added Fix: Menu buttons don’t flicker anymore
05 - Added Fix: Third person weapon cloak fix
06 - Added: Achievements
07 - Added Tweak: Dead players are red on the radar names
08 - Added Tweak: HUD Awareness Objectives updated
09 - Added: Notification for the “Use” input (Objectives, Vehicles, etc)
10 - Added: Difficulty Levels
11 - Added Tweak: Number of Dinosaurs change based on player amount.
12 - Added Fix: Third person weapon sounds are in13 - Added: First-Run System Settings added.
14 - Added Tweak: Game starts in fullscreen on first launch
15 - Added Tweak: Pause menu - ESC Closes it. Quit brings up Notification.
16 - Added Tweak: Announcer adjusted to not play a sound every kill
17 - Added Tweak: T-Rex rock accuracy increased in various situations where players couldnt be hit
+and more!

FOUND A BUG? REPORT IT

This is our very first release and while the game is extremely fun there are a few bugs. We are constantly working on squashing these little boogers and if you find anything please let us know so we can fix it as quickly as possible. There are two ways to do this:

Email us directly - WTF@spiralgamestudios.com
Post on the Spiral Community:
http://spiralforums.com/viewforum.php?f=80

KICKSTARTER & EARLY BIRD COPIES SENT OUT!

We have officially sent out ALL of the KickStarter CD Keys. We used your KickStarter email addresses for delivery. Make sure to check your Spam folder if you haven’t received anything. If you have any issues please contact us directly at help@spiralgamestudios.com

We have also sent out all of the winners of the Early Bird Gets The Worm contest. You can view the list of winners here:
http://spiralforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=79&t=2279

PLAY WITH DEVS (WEEKLY)

We are bringing back our old Play With Devs weekly event. This is where you can play with us developers of the game every Sunday. It will be the same time, same place, same server every single week. We’d love to meet all of you and plus it’s a great way to get any Developer-related achievements. The event details are below:

WHEN? Every Sunday
TIMES:

US Pacific: 10am
US Central: Noon
US Eastern: 1pm
London: 6pm

WHERE: Chicago-1 Game Server
IP:

MONTHLY TITLE UPDATES (FREE DLC!)

We are extremelyl committed to this title and have some huge plans for post-release support. For the first week or two it will be heavily focused on incorporating community feedback and squashing as many bugs as possible resulting in a more cohesive experience. We will also be adding small pieces of content and additions. The first patch will be adding the ability to Drop Weapons, Donate Credits and even choose the Time of Day for each World.

Once we wrap up May we are going to start putting out the Content-heavy updates. The first title updates are currently scheduled as:

May 2012 - Time of Day Update.
June 2012 - Fast Maps Title Update (New Mode, 3 Maps)
July 2012 - Herbivore Dino DLC Pack (3 New Dinos)

Each Title Update will be focused on a major addition to the game. Also included will be plenty (typically hundreds) of hotfix and script updates that are resulting from both your feedback and ours. This is a community driven game so leaving your feedback is all that much more appreciated.

DEVELOPER LIVE STREAMS & FAN VIDEOS

We are going to be doing Live Streams on a regular basis. This will include the Play With Devs events and also sneak peeks to work-in-progress updates coming to the game shortly. We will post announcements on the Spiral Community, Facebook and Twitter so make sure you’re checking those areas for exclusive sneak peeks to the game.

On top of this we are going to do a spotlight for our favorite fan video every month. Send in your gameplay videos, rants, mocks, anything to ilovedinos@spiralgamestudios.com or post them on the Spiral Community for your chance to be chosen!

Dinosaurs, Worlds and Competitions!

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 08:29:15 -0500

Today marks the start of an extremely exciting week for us. We are gearing up towards our first commercial game release and we couldn’t be more thrilled. We have a lot planned for the next couple of weeks so we best start now to make sure we can cover it all. ORION: Dino Beatdown is coming to Steam THIS Friday, May 4th, 2012 for $9.99.

VIDDOC 003 - “PREHISTORIC PROPORTIONS”

We are unleashing our third Video Documentary for ORION: Dino Beatdown. “Prehistoric Proportions” takes a look at all of the massive worlds and all of the deadly Dinosaurs that will be waiting for you on the Day 1 version of ORION: Dino Beatdown:

SCREENSHOTS:

WIN A FREE COPY OF ‘ORION: DINO BEATDOWN’

We are getting close to the first of many competitions. The previously announced “Early Bird Gets The Worm” Competition officially starts on Wedbesday, May 2nd, 2012 @ 11:59pm US Central.

HOW TO ENTER:
01 - You will need to ‘Like’ us on Facebook.
02 - You will need to ‘Follow Us’ on Twitter.
03 - Tell us your favorite Player Class in the game.
04 - Tell us your favorite Dinosaur in the game.
05 - Tell us what Dinosaur you want us to add to the game.

HOW TO SUBMIT:
Simply send an email to ( ilovedinos@spiralgamestudios.com ) with your 5 forms of completion. Include your Twitter Handle, Facebook User Name and the answers to the above questions and you’re officially submitted. Please make sure to wait until after the above time to send otherwise your submission won’t count. Read the full details here.

REVIEW & PROMO COPIES - GOING OUT TODAY

We are currently on track for getting the Review Keys & Promo Codes sent out today. For all of you press-folk that have been in contact with us you can expect your copy no later than nightfall.

If you are from the gaming press and would like to secure ORION: Dino Beatdown review codes please email me directly at:
dprassel@spiralgamestudios.com

KICKSTARTER COPIES - WAVE 1

Just a quick update for all of you lovely KickStarter folk. We are also planning on starting Wave 1 of the KickStarter hand outs today as well. It is important to note that whoever gets included before Friday will be playing the Review Build Code. We will be uploading the Commercial Day 1 version of the game on Thursday at Midnight which will introduce a wide variety of changes, polish and fixes.

Due to the KickStarter System we are doing the KickStarter Key handouts via donation amount from highest to lowest. The original goal was to do it alphabetically but they don’t have any export method that displays it like this.

ORION: Dino Beatdown is coming to Steam THIS Friday, May 4th, 2012.

Early Bird Gets The Worm (Pre-Start)

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 16:17:00 -0500

We are getting closer and closer to the approaching release of ORION: Dino Beatdown. It is now time to kick off our first (of many) competitions. We have way too many competitions planned both before the release and even more so after the release of the game.

It is called “Early Bird Gets The Worm”. The first 100 people to complete everything get in their submission will receive a full copy of ORION: Dino Beatdown for Steam. Please note that this competition doesn’t start until Wednesday, May 2nd, 2012 at 11:59pm US Central time so make sure not to send in your submission until that very second for it to count.

THE FIVE STEPS

01 - You will need to ‘Like’ us on Facebook.
02 - You will need to ‘Follow Us’ on Twitter.
03 - Tell us your favorite Player Class in the game.
04 - Tell us your favorite Dinosaur in the game.
05 - Tell us what Dinosaur you want us to add.

Starting on Wednesday, May 2nd at 11:59pm US Central you can send all applications to ( ilovedinos@spiralgamestudios.com ). Simply include your Facebook user name, Twitter Handle and answers for the three questions and your submission is valid.

The first 100 emails stacked in the inbox starting at that time will win. We will be going over all the applications on Thursday, May 3rd and will send out the rewards throughout the night.

PLAYER CLASS WALLPAPERS

We are going to be doing new trailers, screenshots and wallpapers leading up to the release. This week we are putting out the Player Class Wallpapers to celebrate VidDoc 002. Choose your favorite class and make it your desktop. Tell us which one you picked and why it’s your favorite over in the Spiral Community.

World of Hurt

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 21:38:00 -0500

RELEASE DATE SCOOTS BACK… SLIGHTLY (05/04/2012)

Sit down for this one. We have some sad news. We were feverishly working towards release and oh so close to it that it was both tasty and terrifying. Over the course of the last few days we have had a string of unfortunate events tackle on us like little anchors that ultimately have spread us too thin. We sadly have to miss our awesome release date and push the game back by a mere fourteen (14) days and will be releasing on Friday, May 4th, 2012 (05/04/2012).

We are extremely sad with this as it has been a long journey and all we want to do is punch Raptors in the face with you. So today is all about making that wound hurt a bit less by giving you gifts and love in the form of media, trailers and more.

REVIEW & PRESS COPIES

The Review Build of the game will be available and distributed out on Monday, April 30th, 2012. If you are interested in receiving Review Keys and Promotional Codes to hand out as giveaways please contact me directly at:
dprassel@spiralgamestudios.com

*NOTE ABOUT COMPETITIONS
There are already some competitions going around to earn a free copy of ORION: Dino Beatdown and these are still in effect. It’s just that the reward will be slightly behind. So continue going for it and I hope you all win - even though that is not possible.

VIDDOC 002 - “WORLD OF HURT”

Our second video documentary has been unleashed! “World of Hurt” goes over all of the Player Classes and Gear in the game including the three (3) Player Stores (Barracks, Armory, Garage) and the Weapons, Upgrades, Perks and Vehicles you can buy in the game. Think of this as a video apology letter for our short but sad delay:

On top of this we are releasing new official screenshots relating to all of the Player Classes and Gear located in the Day 1 version of ORION: Dino Beatdown:

The third video documentary is coming out on Wednesday, April 25th, 2012 and will focus on all of the Dinosaurs and Worlds in the commercial release of the game.

KICKSTARTER COPIES

As previously promised we are going to be hooking up EVERY single person that donated to our KickStarter campaign. This includes everyone that donated $1 - $1,000.

We are going to be distributing your keys via your KickStarter email address and we will be doing this in 4 waves (of 100 - alphabetically) leading up to the release. This will allow for early play time as a thank you and an appreciation for your kindness and support. First wave will be going out on Monday, April 30th, 2012.

FORMER DEVELOPER COPIES

Another great program we will be doing is the Remembrance Program. We are offering FREE copies of the game to any and all former developers that worked on ORION in any form or way. This even includes the heay pre-production period when it was under the ‘INCOMING’ IP (1997-2004). Over the years some of us lose contact and others vanish so hopefully this finds some of you :)

Simply email me directly at:
dprassel@spiralgamestudios.com

OnLive Version Gets Delayed :(

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 16:33:15 -0500

It is with a sad notion that we must announce a slight delay for the OnLive version of ORION: Dino Beatdown. We have been working feverishly these last few months in order to get this game out and in the last few weeks we experienced a few more problems than we would like.

Given that we are a small indie developer we cannot be as stretched as thin as we’d sometimes like and in the end we had to make some hard choices. This is resulting in a 1 month delay for the OnLive version of the game. We are now targeting a release date of May 25th, 2012 and will continue posting updates regarding the game.

On another note, our Steam page for ORION: Dino Beatdown is expected to go live on Monday. With this we are releasing the second Video Documentary (VidDoc 002) which will focus on the Classes & Gear of the game. We will also be releasing the third VidDoc next week which details the worlds and dinosaur life that populates them.

ORION: Dino Beatdown is coming to Steam next week on Friday, April 20th, 2012. Just in time for… the weekend.

Official Trailer & Release Date Announced

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 09:30:00 -0500

We are back with one hell of an update. March has been absolutely insane with GDC 2012 kicking it off on top of pumping away at ORION: Dino Beatdown and shaping it up for it’s commercial launch.

RELEASE DATE ANNOUNCED

As you may have noticed it’s the end of March. We sadly have to delay the release of ORION: Dino Beatdown by a measly three weeks in order to fit all of our marketing partners and align everyone’s schedule. We are also using this time to further polish the game and are even trying to include one extra map at launch.

ORION: Dino Beatdown will be launching on both Steam and OnLive on Friday, April 20th, 2012 for $9.99 USD.

OFFICIAL TRAILER:

OFFICIAL SCREENSHOTS:

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

The game itself is turning out absolutely great. If you want to expect one thing from the game expect to have megatons of fun! On top of this the game is also running great and we are very pleased with the low end required specs. We hope to bring this experience to as many people as possible and will always constantly fine tun and optimize the overall performance of the game so that all types of gamers can enjoy it.

Minimum System Requirements

OS: Windows XP SP2, Vista or Windows 7
CPU: Dual Core 2.0 GHz or better
RAM: 2 GB
HDD: 8 GB free disk space
Graphics: 256 MB Graphics Memory with shader model 3
Sound Card: DirectX 9 Compatible
DirectX: Version 9.0c

Recommended System Requirements

OS: Windows XP SP2, Vista or Windows 7
CPU: Quad Core 2.6 GHz or better
RAM: 3 GB
HDD: 8 GB free disk space
Graphics: 512 MB Graphics Memory with shader model 3
Sound Card: DirectX 9 Compatible
DirectX: Version 9.0c

Supported Graphics Cards:

Minimum – NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GTX or ATI Radeon HD 2900 GT or better
Recommended -NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260 or ATI Radeon HD 5750 or better

WEB SDK / MEDIA KIT

We have also uploaded a hefty WebSDK for any press and partners that would like to utilize it. Inside are all the bare essentials to ORION: Dino Beatdown including:

Official Screenshots
All Released Trailers
Company Logos
Game Logos
Press Release

DOWNLOAD:
http://www.orion-project.net/media/obd/OBD_WebSDK.7z

Let us know what you think at the Spiral Community:
http://spiralforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=79&t=2207

‘Like Us’ on Facebook

‘Follow Us’ on Twitter

‘Join Us’ at the Spiral Community

VIDDOC 001 - "Prepare for Take-Off!"

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 16:39:57 -0600

We are back yet again! This time we come bundled with the first of a variety of Video Documentaries (VidDocs). Today we are giving a much more in-depth look to the overall game and what you can expect on release day.

“Prepare for Take-Off” (VidDoc 001)

This video documentary shows the second world (Depth) for the first time as well as plenty of new gameplay footage. It also takes a closer look at the core features of the game including:

Open Worlds
Missions & Objectives
Dinosaurs
DLC
Classes
Bases & Generators
Player Shops & Structures

We are aiming to release a new video documentary every week leading up to release. Each one will cover a different area of the game with this first one covering the entire scope and scale.

We hope you enjoy!

Let us know what you think at the Spiral Community:
http://spiralforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=79&t=2184

‘Like Us’ on Facebook

‘Follow Us’ on Twitter

‘Join Us’ at the Spiral Community

‘ORION: Dino Beatdown’ Announced!

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 13:05:49 -0600

“REPORT IN, TEAM!” … “REPORTING IN!”

It’s been rather quiet these past few months due to us being busier than one could ever manifest. We are only poking our heads out now because today is a very special day. Today we are thrilled to announce a brand new game - ORION: Dino Beatdown.

GLOBAL, ALL-STAR EFFORT

‘ORION: Dino Beatdown’ is the result of a global effort and an incredible collaboration of an all-star assortment of developers that helped bring you games like BioShock, Ghost Recon, Unreal Tournament, Forza Motorsport, Jade Empire, Halo, Borderlands and Mortal Kombat.

CHANGE IN THE INDUSTRY

Spiral was formed under one shared idea - change. We believed that games were becoming too “safe” and even more importantly over priced. We here at Spiral are here to reward YOU, the people that wait for the games, buy the games and play them for hundreds of hours on end.

We are proud to announce that we are releasing ‘ORION: Dino Beatdown’ for only $9.99 USD and a wealth of post-release support and content.

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION:

GAME NAME: ORION: DINO BEATDOWN
PLATFORMS: Steam, OnLive
SELLING PRICE: $9.99 USD

‘ORION: Dino Beatdown’ is an Open World, Class-Based Cooperative Survival Sci-Fi FPS. The game puts five (5) players together in huge, endless environments in which they must work together to accomplish objectives and survive the devastating Dinosaur horde.

Players earn in-game credits which can be used to upgrade their abilities, purchase new weapons, unlock weapon upgrades and call in vehicles in order to ensure survival.

Experience the future as never before. Make use of Jetpacks, Medic Guns, Cloaking Devices and equip yourself with state-of-the-art weapons ranging from Shotguns, Machine Guns, Rocket Launchers, Laser Rifles. If that isn’t enough then simply tear up the environments in a number of vehicles ranging from Hover Bikes, Buggies, Mechs, Tanks and VTOL’s.

KEY FEATURES:

5-PLAYER, OPEN-WORLD CO-OP
Varying Objectives, Multiple Bases A.I systems populate the worlds.
3 MASSIVE WORLDS
Covan (Desert), Depth (Night Forest), Eden (Grasslands)
IN-GAME SHOPS & STORES
Three types of stores - Barracks (Player), Armory (Weapons), Garage (Vehicles)
CLASS-BASED GAMEPLAY
Three player classes - Assault (Jetpack), Support (Medic), Recon (Cloak)
PERKS & UPGRADES
Class Abilities, Player Upgrades, Weapon Upgrades and more.
CREDIT SYSTEM
Earn and Spend credits from completing objectives and progression.
15 WEAPONS, ITEMS & GRENADES
Magnums, Shotguns, Machine Guns, Laser Rifles, Rocket Launchers and more.
4 VEHICLES
Hover-bikes, Buggies, Tanks / Mechs & VTOL’s.
3 UNIQUE DINOSAURS (@LAUNCH)
T-Rex, Raptor, Rham-Phorynchus.
50 STEAM ACHIEVEMENTS
Gotta catch them all!

KICKSTARTER LOVE

We will never forget those who supported us early on. You’ve helped shape everything that is now forming around us and we are here to thank you for your kindness and support.

For ANYONE that donated to our Kickstarter Campaign back in February of 2011 - you get the game for free. Whether you donated $1 or $1,000 we will see you on the battlefield and be fighting alongside you on day 1. We will be distributing Steam CD keys to your registered KickStarter email. More details as release draws closer.

PRESS INQUIRIES & GDC 2012

If you would like to see or learn more about ‘ORION: Dino Beatdown’, please feel free to send all press inquiries to press@spiralgamestudios.com.

If you would like to set up a meeting at GDC 2012 with Spiral, send an email to gdc2012@spiralgamestudios.com.

‘Like Us’ on Facebook
‘Follow Us’ on Twitter
‘Join Us’ at the Spiral Community

Spiral @ GDC 2012

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 13:50:00 -0600

We have been quiet these last few months - but only for good reason. We have been busier than ever and have the scars and wounds to show for it. However, we are now ready to talk and are gearing up for what will be one of our largest showings at any conference to date.

TWO MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENTS

We will be making two huge announcements at this years Game Developers Conference. We cannot wait to reveal what we have been working on and how it’s going to be super awesome for all of you and affect you rather soon. Try and guess our magical secrets in the community thread below:
http://spiralforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=53&t=2142

WANT TO MEET WITH US?

If you are attending the Game Developers Conference 2012 and would like to meet with us we will have a variety of demos and videos for show behind private doors. Send any inquiry emails to: gdc2012@spiralgamestudios.com

ORION Featured in Official Xbox Magazine

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 19:16:03 -0600

We’ve made our first official debut in the Official Xbox Magazine. We are featured in the January 2012 issue and are located on Page 17 (my favorite number).

Get to your local news stands right this minute and read all about it!

Jungle Wreckage

Sun, 09 Oct 2011 18:32:40 -0500

We have just finished coming out of a massive internal deadline which we are very proud of. We have compiled some footage of the recent internal pre-alpha multiplayer game build of ‘ORION: Prelude’ and wanted to share some if it’s awesomeness with you.

DISCLAIMER:
It is important to note that this is still significantly early in the game’s life. The footage here reflects only 24 weeks of development and is still very much a “Pre-Alpha”.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR:
This footage is showcasing many new elements including one of our newer internal maps called “Oasis”. We are also showcasing an updated Dinosaur Behavior and Artificial Intelligence System. While this system is also very infant in terms of what it will be, you will see T-Rex’s flipping jeeps and chomping people. We are also showing more footage of the raptors, jetpacking action and the combat of what will be contingent in an every-day ‘ORION: Prelude’ game match.

HAVE SOME IMAGES WITH THAT VIDEO

We are also publishing 5 brand new images to celebrate in this joyous occassion.

Let us know your thoughts both here and at the Spiral Community where we are constantly interacting and listening to our fans: http://spiralforums.com/

You may also sign up for the private, PC Multiplayer Beta of ‘ORION: Prelude’ at www.orionprelude.com

Spiral @ Eurogamer 2011

Sun, 25 Sep 2011 13:19:36 -0500

London’s largest gaming event, Eurogamer, took place over this weekend. We had a presence there to experience all the craziness and take photographs as evidence. Tons of new games were on show and plenty of new technology to see.

GAME OF THE SHOW:

There were way too many amazing games on the show floor. All of the block busters about to release during Fall and some that are coming out next year. Top (biased) pick was CS:GO.

OTHER GAMES:

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
RAGE
Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary
Batman: Akrham City
Uncharted 3
Star Wars: The Old Republic
SSX
Assassin’s Creed: Revelations
Zelda: Skyward Sword & 25th Anniversary

OnLive - UK Debut

OnLive, an extremely exciting and newer gaming service made its official debut in the UK during Eurogamer. It featured the largest booth in the entire convention and showcased what it is bringing to the table - which is a lot!

WHAT DOES ONLIVE BRING TO THE TABLE?

Social Gaming - Brag clips, Spectator viewing
Free Trials - Try any game
Cloud-Based Gaming - Pick up and play where you left off from on ANY platform
Multiple Platforms - Mac, iOS, PC, TV
Play games like Crysis 1, Borderlands, Batman: Arkham Asylum and more on your iPad and iPhones

Learn more about OnLive at:
http://www.onlive.com/

Read our full, detailed impressions from Eurogamer featuring more pictures at:
http://spiralforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=53&t=1990

Playable Dinosaurs - Coming to ORION: Prelude!

Mon, 05 Sep 2011 08:00:00 -0500

So the curtains are pulled back and our large announcement is finally revealed! We are extremely pleased to announce Playable Dinosaurs are coming to ORION: Prelude!

(^CLICK IMAGE FOR HD) We have heard the question “Will the dinosaurs be playable?“ time and time again and now we can officially say “Yes.”.

I was looking at how our A.I dinosaurs were setup and the systems already in place and noticed it wouldn’t be much extra work at all to effectively achieve super polished and super fun playable dinosaurs. I talked it over with our Technical Artist, Scott and our Head Honcho Programmer, Chris and they green lighted everything in terms of work load. The best part it is it will in no way affect our current deadlines or milestones and we are very much on track with development.

We will be premiering a new mode under our ‘Cooperative’ game mode branch currently being labeled as “Dino Attack”. We will be revealing more information on this game mode in the near future but right now we can share the following with you:

FACT 001 - Each Dinosaur will have it’s own “archetype” and abilities. Our Dinosaurs both in the A.I modes and playable modes all have their own personality traits and behavior styles.

FACT 002 - These are very akin to Left 4 Dead zombies in the sense that we have multiple roles such as the T-Rex being similar to the “Tank”, the Raptor being similar to the “Hunter” and the Triceratops being similar to the “Charger”.

FACT 003 - Each playable Dinosaur will have it’s own attacks and special attacks.

FACT 004 - All of our dinosaurs will be playable except for the Argentinosaurus. He will be present in these modes as an A.I piece.

We are still currently in “Pre-Alpha” and this announcement marks the game as feature-locked. We are right around the corner from hitting “Alpha” status and are on track with our internal “Beta” milestone.

GAMESCOM / PAX 2011 PRE-ALPHA GAME FOOTAGE

BRAGGING RIGHTS:

So what do you officially have to look forward to from ‘ORION: Prelude’?

Best Dinosaur A.I - ever!
Playable Dinosaurs
Jetpacks
8 vehicles spanning Buggies, Hovercrafts, Aircrafts, Tanks & Mechs
Destruction
Bots
Single-Player
Cooperative (Multiple modes)
Competitive Multiplayer (Multiple modes)
30 Weapons, Items & Grenades
32 Player Count confirmed for PC
Dedicated Servers
Tons of FREE DLC
and much, much more!

SPIRAL COMMUNITY

Come interact with the developers and share your thoughts and opinions over in the Spiral Community:

REGISTER FOR THE ‘ORION: PRELUDE’ MULTIPLAYER BETA

We are still taking Multiplayer Beta applicants for the ORION: Prelude Multiplayer Beta. This will be made available on Steam and we will be discussing more details about it in the near future as we are still in heavy development. Simply visit orionprelude.com and create an account.

A Spiral August

Tue, 30 Aug 2011 16:22:00 -0500

We are back with another update. We are so pleased that August is now behind us. It wasn’t that it was a bad month - not by any stretch. But it was an insanely busy one. GamesCom 2011, PAX Dev 2011, PAX Prime 2011 and internal milestones all landing in the same month? Absolutely crazy!

We have been all over the globe and we are now here to share it all with you. We have a lot to talk about so brace yourselves.

GERMANY

We kicked off August with our premiere in Germany for GamesCom. I had arrived in Frankfurt and took a bullet train straight to Cologne where the conference was being held. I had stayed in a hotel literally right outside the famous Catherdral. An absolutely beautiful city and luckily had perfect weather the entire time.

GAMESCOM 2011

This was easily the most insane conference that I have ever attended. The complex it took place in was absolutely massive - an entire city complex. There were multiple main halls split into two sections - one for developers and trade visitors and another for the entertainment expo where fans could play games and sweat profusely in sea of people. GamesCom broke a record this year with the highest level of attendees reaching a whopping 271,000 visitors. They actually had to lock the complex down due to hitting capacity on Saturday at around 2:00pm.

ORION: PRELUDE - NEW FOOTAGE!

(CLICK IMAGE TO PLAY) We didn’t come empty handed to GamesCom - not one bit. We were bunkered down for the weeks leading up to GamesCom developing a significantly updated Pre-Alpha game build. We have just published the HD Direct-Feed video footage to our Spiral YouTube and we hope you enjoy.

VIEW TRAILER

*NOTE - This is a pre-alpha game build that was developed in only 20 weeks. We ask that you keep that in mind and understand that much of what you see is either going to change or be improved.

SEATTLE, WA

Literally two days after getting back from Germany and GamesCom I was on yet another flight to head out to Seattle, WA - the best place in the world. It was a celebration of sorts as I was attending the very first PAX Dev - ever. It consisted of a variety of developer interactions and many industry folk residing under one roof. I had the absolute fortune of having one of the coolest lunches in my life.

PAX DEV 2011

I ran into a fellow developer friend out (Keith) who invited me to a lunch with some of the people I was originally inspired to get into the video games industry. This included Jaime Griesemer, the game designer for Halo 1-3 and 13 year Bungie Veteran. Also present was Keith, producer on games like Call of Duty: Black Ops, Jedi Knight: Outcast / Academy, Return to Castle Wolfenstein and also Dennis, Producer at Blizzard for games like StarCraft 2 and Diablo 3. They were all super awesome and the food was nice too.

MY VISIT TO VALVE

So I had a days worth of time to kill. I shot an email over to our partners at Valve and told them exactly that and that I would love to come and see the studios. They replied “Be here at 10:00am tomorrow”. I did exactly that.

I was fortunate enough to see literally everything. This included all stories of development, the meeting room, tester room, the 3D modeling machines, Gabe’s office and his sweet knife collection and plenty more. I also had the great opportunity of having a 40-minute cigarette with both Erik Wolpaw and Jay Pinkerton, the brilliant writers behind Portal 2.

I will be doing a full write-up on ”My Visit To Valve” over in the Spiral community which will include plenty of more pictures, videos and information. Stay tuned.

PAX PRIME 2011

This was the craziest PAX even that I’ve been to yet. I wasn’t even able to stay for the whole thing but the amount of people inside the place was overwhelming to say the least. Plenty of awesome games were up for play including the new SSX, FireFall, the new Tribes and my personal favorite - Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. The place was a mad house but I highly recommend any gamer that has the chance of going to PAX to do so. Very fun.

So that is a quick update with what has been going on around here. Over the next week or two we will be putting out a new video that shows plenty of footage and images taken over the course of August 2011.

Don’t forget. Large announcement is coming on Monday, September 5th, 2011.

Spiral Game Studios

Spiral Update - May 2012

TITLE UPDATE 001

STEAM INCENTIVES & STEAM DISCOUNT

VERSION 1.1D LIVE NOW! VERSION 1.1E COMING!

DEDICATED SERVER SUPPORT VIA STEAM

STUDIO OPENING

ONLIVE VERSION

SPIRAL IS HIRING (PAID POSITIONS)

Version 1.1d HotFix LIVE!

DEDICATED SERVER FILES (VERSION 1.1d)

VERSION 1.1d FULL CHANGELOG

Version 1.1b HotFix LIVE!

DEDICATED SERVER FILES - 1.1bFULL DOWNLOAD - 331MB

DEDICATED SERVER FILES - 1.1a - 1.1bPATCH UPGRADE - 17.6MB

VERSION 1.1b CHANGELOG:

Dino Beatdown - Version 1.1a Patch (LIVE!)

DEDICATED SERVER FILES (1.1a)

Dino Beatdown - Version 1.1 (LIVE!)

THANK YOU, EPIC & STEAM!

VERSION 1.1 - CHANGE-LOG

VERSION 1.1 - DEDICATED SERVER FILES

INCENTIVES (WORK IN PROGRESS)

NOTES - 64BIT / 32BIT

NOTES - HOTFIX FOR 32BIT USERS

SO WHAT EXACTLY HAPPENED? (FAN EXPLANATION)

PATCH 2 / PATCH 3

ORION: DINO BEATDOWN SOUNDTRACK @ iTUNES

FOUND SOMETHING WEIRD / GLITCHY?

ORION: Dino Beatdown - Patch 1 Coming!

ORION: Dino Beatdown Released!

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION:

PRICING

OFFICIAL TRAILER

FAN REACTION COMMUNITY TRAILER

THE OFFICIAL SOUNDTRACK

GAME SERVERS & DEDICATED SERVER FILES

TUTORIALS, VIDEO DOCS & USER MANUALS

PATCH NOTES (REVIEW TO COMMERCIAL)

FOUND A BUG? REPORT IT

KICKSTARTER & EARLY BIRD COPIES SENT OUT!

PLAY WITH DEVS (WEEKLY)

MONTHLY TITLE UPDATES (FREE DLC!)

DEVELOPER LIVE STREAMS & FAN VIDEOS

Dinosaurs, Worlds and Competitions!

VIDDOC 003 - “PREHISTORIC PROPORTIONS”

WIN A FREE COPY OF ‘ORION: DINO BEATDOWN’

REVIEW & PROMO COPIES - GOING OUT TODAY

KICKSTARTER COPIES - WAVE 1

Early Bird Gets The Worm (Pre-Start)

THE FIVE STEPS

PLAYER CLASS WALLPAPERS

ASSAULT CLASS (Jetpack)

SUPPORT CLASS (MEDICAL GUN)

RECON CLASS (CLOAKING DEVICE)

World of Hurt

RELEASE DATE SCOOTS BACK… SLIGHTLY (05/04/2012)

REVIEW & PRESS COPIES

VIDDOC 002 - “WORLD OF HURT”

KICKSTARTER COPIES

FORMER DEVELOPER COPIES

OnLive Version Gets Delayed :(

Official Trailer & Release Date Announced

RELEASE DATE ANNOUNCED

OFFICIAL TRAILER:

OFFICIAL SCREENSHOTS:

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

WEB SDK / MEDIA KIT

VIDDOC 001 - "Prepare for Take-Off!"

“Prepare for Take-Off” (VidDoc 001)

‘ORION: Dino Beatdown’ Announced!

“REPORT IN, TEAM!” … “REPORTING IN!”

GLOBAL, ALL-STAR EFFORT

CHANGE IN THE INDUSTRY

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION:

KEY FEATURES:

KICKSTARTER LOVE

PRESS INQUIRIES & GDC 2012

Spiral @ GDC 2012

TWO MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENTS

DEDICATED SERVER FILES - 1.1b
FULL DOWNLOAD - 331MB

DEDICATED SERVER FILES - 1.1a - 1.1b
PATCH UPGRADE - 17.6MB