Greetings, survivors, and everyone following the path through the shadows of the underground facility!
We know things have been a little quiet around Steel Seed lately, but behind the scenes, the team has been hard at work preparing the next major update for the game, and we’re finally ready to let you get your hands on it.
Before the update officially goes live, we’d like to invite you to take part in our Open Beta. This is your opportunity to experience upcoming improvements early, explore new gameplay additions, and help us polish the experience together with your feedback.
The upcoming update introduces a wide range of changes and enhancements across the game, including gameplay balancing, combat improvements, updated mechanics, additional environmental details, quality-of-life features, optimization work, and much more. You’ll find the full Change Log below.
We highly encourage everyone to join the Open Beta and share their thoughts with us. Your feedback plays a huge role in helping us refine Steel Seed and deliver the best possible experience for all players. We are especially interested in hearing your impressions regarding the updated localization support and overall gameplay feel.
Also, Steel Seed is currently part of a Steam Daily Deal with a massive 50% discount. If you haven’t picked up the game yet, now is the perfect time to jump in. And if you’re already playing, don’t forget to leave a review on Steam, it really helps support the team and the future of the game.
How to Access the Open Beta
Open your Steam Library
Right-click Steel Seed
Select “Properties” Open the “Betas” tab
Choose “new_patch_public_beta” from the dropdown menu
Steam will then automatically begin downloading the latest beta version of the update. We can’t wait to see how you approach the new changes, improvements, and gameplay additions. Every piece of feedback helps us push Steel Seed further and shape the future of the game together with the community.
Jump in, explore the facility once more, and let us know what you think. Happy testing — and stay hidden in the darkness.
Change Log:
New Combat Update
Redesigned the melee combat system
Added a new Light Attack, increasing the maximum combo chain to five hits
Expanded combat combinations with the ability to integrate unique Heavy Attacks into Light Attack chains
Introduced two new strategic attacks to stun or push enemies away
Replaced the Heavy Combo with a devastating multi-charge Heavy Attack
Push-back functionality removed from Light Attacks and now limited to charged Heavy Attacks and end-of-combo Heavy Attacks
Reworked enemy encounters with updated enemy placement and aggressiveness
Complete rebalance of Zoe’s combat progression
Enemy aggressiveness now scales according to selected difficulty level
Implemented Strafe Mode while locking onto enemies
Added dodge support for Strafe Mode
Perfect Dodge can now be executed during rolls
Adjusted enemy health and stun values according to progression
Enemies now reward different amounts of Glitch depending on game progression
Enemies now correctly switch to search state if Zoe falls outside the map during combat
Introduced armored enemy types
Additional Combat & AI Improvements
Updated NPC task distribution system to reduce downtime between attacks
Improved attack permission logic for enemies unable to attack
QTE difficulty now scales with selected difficulty level
Reduced the number of active QTE button prompts
Zoe can now knock weakened enemies off ledges using charged Heavy Attacks
Enemies immediately enter combat if Zoe rushes toward them
Ranged enemies now attempt to maintain greater distance from Zoe
Improved retreat pathfinding stability in complex combat scenarios (work in progress)
Enemies may now counterattack after receiving rapid consecutive hits
Improved target prioritization toward Zoe over Koby
Enhanced enemy navigation stability in complex areas
Renewed Skill Tree
Added Combat Mastery upgrades
Reworked skill dependencies; unlocking skills now reveals their upgrades
Removed Damage+ upgrade and replaced it with Combat Mastery 1 & 2 for existing players
Split Koby Stun into separate Koby Stun and Koby Stun+ upgrades
Updated several Bullet Up, Ammo Up, Energy Up, and Tool challenges
Replaced all time-based challenges with UI-assisted counter challenges
Rebalanced skill costs
Skins
Introduced free Battlesuits for Zoe and Koby
Added Blade Skins unlocked through Combat Mastery upgrades
Bug Fixes
Fixed HDR black rectangle issue affecting Battlesuit previews
Fixed incorrect language display for Skin names in notifications
Fixed unnecessary Health Boost unlock notification
Fixed Logs menu opening before Shamyr completed dialogue
Fixed rare animation issues with Zoe’s legs after landing
Fixed Zoe occasionally becoming stuck in flying mode after respawning
Fixed gliding during Turret stealth kill animations
Fixed Photo Mode activation during cinematic skipping
Fixed stun damage not applying in Old Construction Chamber
Fixed missing bonus damage on certain headshots
Fixed Koby projectiles missing Turrets despite accurate aim
Fixed Power Node scripted sequence retriggering multiple times
Fixed Shield enemy attack interruptions and aggressiveness issues
Fixed enemy pathfinding recalculation loop near Zoe
Fixed rare close-range combat crashes
Fixed rare crashes related to explosive barrels
Fixed squad assignment conflicts that could lead to crashes
Improved slow-motion mode stability
Reduced risk of freezes and crashes after slow motion
Fixed scene transition issues while slow motion was active
Removed missing asset loading errors
Fixed invalid difficulty assignment crash
Improved synchronization between gamepad and keyboard/mouse controls
Other Improvements
Added “!” indicators for newly discovered skills, documents, and Battlesuits
Reworked enemy hit reaction animations
Improved placement of Zoe’s blade decals
Enhanced camera guidance during climbing sections
Replaced gamma tuning image with “S4VI” text
Light rework in the Oil Refinery Tower
Added sound feedback for Turret animations
Minor ending cinematic improvements
Minor checkpoint fixes
Minor dress-up fixes and enrichments
Minor collision fixes
Minor NavMesh fixes
Minor cinematic fixes
Minor text updates
