SEVERANCE v0.9.0.0 - MAJOR UPDATE #2
Road to Full Release
The road to SEVERANCE 1.0 continues.
v0.9.0.0 is Major Update #2 and brings another huge round of changes focused on rebuilding older systems, improving usability, polishing multiplayer, and preparing the game for full release.
One of the biggest changes this update is the complete overhaul of the Lobby Laptop and Player Tablet. The old Main Menu has now been removed entirely, with almost everything moved into the physical laptop inside the lobby.
There are also major improvements to the Multiplayer lobbies, loadouts, customization, controller support, and general gameplay polish.
NEW LOBBY LAPTOP
The Lobby Laptop has been completely rebuilt from scratch with an entirely new interface and system.
New Laptop Features
Completely redesigned Laptop UI
New desktop-style operating system
Added Contract application
Added Multiplayer application
Added Shop
Added Photos
Added Settings
Added Leaderboard
Added Weekly Challenge
Added Tutorial
Added Career Statistics
Added an extensive Guide containing information about:
Ghost Types
Equipment
Evidence
General investigation information
Added Match Results
Previous match results are now saved and can be viewed later
Photos taken using the Photo Camera are now saved to the Lobby Laptop
Saved photos can be used as your Laptop Wallpaper
Laptop Customization
You can now customise your laptop with:
Wallpapers
Accent Colours
Window Colours
CUSTOM DIFFICULTIES
Custom Difficulties have now been added.
Players can customise how they want their investigation to play, including options affecting both:
Ghost AI
Player Ghost
This gives players significantly more control over how difficult, chaotic, or experimental their matches can be.
MULTIPLAYER IMPROVEMENTS
Multiplayer lobby management has received a major overhaul.
Multiplayer games are now created and joined through the Lobby Laptop
Added Steam Invites
Added Kick Player
Added Ban Player
Added individual Player Volume Sliders
Available in both the Lobby and ESC Menu
Open Lobbies now display:
Location
Game Mode
Difficulty
General improvements to multiplayer lobby usability and readability
NEW LOADOUT SYSTEM
A completely new Loadout System has been added.
You can now save equipment setups for much faster preparation between investigations.
Save your preferred equipment setup
Quickly re-add equipment between contracts
Added an option to Auto Fill Team Equipment each round
This should significantly reduce the amount of repetitive equipment management between games.
PLAYER TABLET OVERHAUL
The Player Tablet has been heavily reworked.
This includes:
Completely redesigned UI
Improved readability
More detailed investigation information
Improved customisation
Better organisation of information
New Contract Information page
Easier access to important information while investigating
The Contract page now displays information about your currently selected contract directly from the Tablet.
MAIN MENU REMOVED
The traditional Main Menu has been removed.
When loading into SEVERANCE you will now enter directly into a Singleplayer Lobby, with the Lobby Laptop acting as the main hub for the game.
Creating and joining Multiplayer games is now handled directly through the laptop.
This is part of making the lobby feel like an actual interactive space rather than simply being a room attached to a collection of menus.
NEW LANGUAGES
SEVERANCE now includes Interface localisation for a much wider range of languages.
Newly supported languages include:
Czech
Dutch
Finnish
French
German
Greek
Hungarian
Italian
Norwegian
Polish
Portuguese – Brazil
Portuguese – Portugal
Romanian
Russian
Spanish
Swedish
Turkish
Ukrainian
English remains fully supported as the game's original language.
More languages may be added as development continues toward 1.0.
PLAYER IMPROVEMENTS
Improved player arm wall-avoidance IK
Arm movement is now much less aggressive and should feel considerably smoother
Dropped items now receive a small forward throw rather than simply falling directly downward
Added a subtle light around held equipment so players can better identify what they are holding in very dark environments
GHOST PLAYER UI IMPROVEMENTS
The Ghost Player UI has received a visual improvement pass to make it cleaner, more readable, and more polished overall.
Changes include:
Improved Ghost Player UI
New and updated UI icons
Better overall visual polish
Improved readability while playing as the Ghost
Added a new How To Play information tab for the Ghost Player
This new info tab gives players easier access to instructions and information while actively playing as the Ghost
CONTROLLER IMPROVEMENTS
Controller support has received another major improvement pass.
Removed the old controller cursor-based UI interaction
Buttons now automatically navigate correctly using controller input
General controller navigation should now feel significantly more natural
BUG FIXES
Fixed an issue where the Ghost Player could move Investigator arms while holding equipment due to wall avoidance
Fixed the Photo Camera light remaining active after being dropped
Fixed several Voice Chat issues
Fixed some items falling through the environment when spawning on certain maps
Fixed a bug where push to talk didn't work when inside the Settings Menu or Lobby Laptop
REMOVED / REWORKED SYSTEMS
As part of the continued overhaul towards 1.0, several older interfaces have now been removed.
The following standalone screens have been removed:
Main Menu
Leaderboard Screen
Weekly Challenge Screen
Match Results Screen
These systems have not been removed from the game — they have instead been rebuilt and integrated directly into the new Lobby Laptop.
THE ROAD TO 1.0 CONTINUES
v0.9.0.0 is another major step towards the full release of SEVERANCE.
The focus leading into 1.0 remains the same:
Rework outdated systems. Improve readability. Improve onboarding. Polish the experience. Fix long standing issues. Make SEVERANCE feel like one complete game.
There is still more coming before launch.
Thank you to everyone playing, testing, reporting bugs, and leaving feedback.
See you in the investigation.
- Liam
