Hello everyone and welcome to 2025!
We hope you’ve all had a good break over the new year and like us you’re likely back in the swing of work, study, or whatever you usually do with your time.
A few community members have asked for a roadmap for what to expect this year. We’re hesitant to commit more than just a few months, so below is a rundown of what is on the way in early 2025.
The biggest change is that from today’s patch, we now have a means to switch branches to the English-only updates, which is where we’ll be posting all of the new content fixes, narrative changes, journal improvements and so on, and once done we will work on localising for all languages.
Roadmap for Fixes and Patches
We’ve seen some players asking about a roadmap of what they can expect in Broken Roads this year, so here is the basic list outlining the key areas the team is tackling first:
- We have high confidence it is now sorted, but if any Steam Achievements still aren't unlocking for some players after today’s patch, we’ll keep digging into the matter until it is solved.
- Southern Cross is a high-priority area receiving improvements to player interactions, expanded choices, and enhanced role-playing opportunities in key moments.
- Merredin Election issues will be addressed with clearer details and options for the player to engage (or not) as they choose.
- Refugees will see significant changes and improvements, with more interactions and resolution options. This update may take a few months to fully implement and test.
- Eliminating 'teleportation'/instant fast traveling for story beats or other locations wherever possible. This will require time to test properly.
- Companions and smaller NPCs will be significantly fleshed out, with some receiving complete overhauls, particularly companion interactions at the convoy in Merredin.
- Continuing to address and squash bugs along the way.
Recently Addressed Issues
- Fixed a bug affecting some save games (caused by a null reference related to Moral Traits used in combat) not loading.
- Steam Achievements not unlocking should be fixed with the new patch, but will wait for players to confirm. Any time you enter Brookton, Merredin, Kalgoorlie or (spoilers) the final scene in the game it runs a full check on any achievements you have locally which are not registered on Steam.
- Fixed a bug where enemies (random encounter raiders and animals) would lose their weapons or loot if fought in a previous random encounter. No more dingoes attacking with fists!
- Certain weapons, such as cleavers, now have a small percentage chance to inflict the bleeding status effect, rather than guaranteeing it on every hit.
- There was a very late-game moment that could teleport you to an unavoidable combat encounter if you asked about a particular character too many times. Without saying too much more at the risk of spoilers, this no longer moves you from the conversation you are in but instead will wait for a future scene load, and will likely be iterated on further to make this feel more natural.
- There were some instances where objects in combat had the incorrect cover applied, making it impossible to shoot over the hood of some cars or past certain tall trees. These have now been assigned the correct cover type.
- Fixed a bug where Jake Anderson was sometimes incorrectly spawning in Bally Bally Hall during the Barter Crew origin story.
Responding to Player Feedback
- All new Steam reviews from the last 1-2 months will be read and responded to.
- All Steam comments and discussions have been answered this week.
Steam Branch Switching Feature
- Players can now easily switch to the English-only branch via Steam’s branch switching feature.
- This branch includes all new narrative, quest, companion, and other changes.
Update Cadence
- Based on reactions to our previous major patch, we will prioritize smaller, more frequent updates rather than waiting a few months for larger patches.
Non-English Versions
- For now, non-English players can continue to enjoy the game in its current state with the latest fixes as of today.
- The new changes will be available in the English-only branch. Once the updates are complete, localization and translation will follow.
Bug-Free Quest Resolutions
- Commitment to achieving 100% bug-free quest resolutions.
- Ongoing patches to address edge cases discovered post-release, some involving unexpected sequence breaks.
- Players are encouraged to report bugs via the Discord report-a-bug channel.
Steam Deck Status
- Fully playable on Steam Deck with Playable Status confirmed by Steam.
- Verified Status withheld due to text size concerns, despite recent increases.
- Valve’s specific feedback on glyphs and text size will be addressed in an upcoming update.
Again, we don’t want to commit to specific timelines for these. Given that QA and bug-fixing can take who knows how long if unforeseen issues arise, any dates we put out now are likely to change.
Thank you to all players for their continued feedback and support as we work to improve Broken Roads!
PLAY NOW:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1403440/Broken_Roads/
That's all for today, ‘ol cobber! Follow Broken Roads to stay updated and don't forget, your choices are the key.
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- The Drop Bear Bytes team
