Steam Auto-Cloud has now been enabled, so saves should sync between devices (even cross-platform).

Version 1.04b itself is only for Linux builds as it fixes a major performance problem. I\'d gotten the report a few times but had no idea what was going on as I primarily develop on Linux and wasn\'t having any issues.

It turns out that when you\'re not using a controller, I was accidentally polling evdev for new controllers to detect every single frame. On my Manjaro setup this wasn\'t a problem but after switching to Arch I forgot to bring over a configuration patch for my keyboard (it\'s a long story) and so that device would now seemingly time out when polled, making each frame take 20-30ms!!

Now the check will only happen if the timestamp on /dev/input indicates there\'s actually been some sort of device change, or if you manually press the button to detect controllers in options. It\'s still possible the game might lag for a bit if you plug/unplug a controller while playing but it should just be one little hitch instead of tanking the framerate outright. In the future I\'ll need to just do the check on another thread so it doesn\'t block like this.

This was also happening on Steam Deck running the native build. While this patch should fix performance on the Deck, I still don\'t have proper gamepad support set up with it and likely won\'t anytime soon so for the moment I still recommend sticking with the default Proton configuration.

Somewhere in uploading a new build to Steam, asset changes described in the patch notes for v1.04 had ended up not being packaged in.

Surprise! Ctesiphon is now Steam Deck Verified!steamhappy

This comes with the caveat that on the Deck you\'ll get the Windows version by default launching through Proton, as stated in the previous update. The situation on native Linux hasn\'t changed yet and may not for a good while so it\'s not recommended to run the game with the native runtimes on the Deck, though you may have better results using a plugged-in controller rather than the integrated controls.

Additionally, version 1.04 is going live right now with the following changelog:

Bugfixes

• Resolution options were showing the wrong tooltip

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• Gamma slider was a little buggy, especially when using buttons to adjust it

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• The Game Options screen was lacking a scrollbar

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• Some of Jens Vide\'s songs had not been attributed in the credits

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• Had to remove a possible sequence break right at the start of the Multiport (map no. 5). I normally prefer to at least turn these into secrets but this one in particular breaks the map a little too much.

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• Some garbage bags have had additional clip boxes put around them to prevent you from getting stuck in Outskirts (map no. 3)

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• A spot in the Comm Station (map no. 6) where you could get stuck between two walls has been patched up.

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• Windows version was not applying vsync at launch

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• Sometimes the final boss gets stuck and doesn\'t move or shoot for a while. This unfortunately happens with most enemies in the right conditions, something messes up between line-of-sight checks and the attacking logic that puts them in a state where they just do nothing until a timer runs down. This has been really hard to catch on my end. I\'m not confident I\'ve actually fixed this but I\'ve put in a failsafe that should make it less common.

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Minor Additions

• Toggles have been added to allow skipping the prompts for quickloading and for starting a level

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• An option has been added to turn off auto-run. This overrides the \"Walk when scoped\" option which has now been moved into Game Options.

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• Quick Save and Quick Load have also had additional defaults added for F5 and F9

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• Difficulty options now make it a bit clearer that Hard difficulty assumes map knowledge and that Normal is the recommended difficulty for first-time playthroughs.

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• Super Easy difficulty now slowly regenerates your health up to 100 the same way that overhealth ticks back down to 100 on Extra Hard.

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• Another secret has been added to the Highway level (map no. 2). It should no longer be so easy to see the edge of the map from there and in return you can now get another early weapon.

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Balancing

• A handful of drink pickups have been added to the final boss fight on Normal difficulty so there\'s at least some fluid available for the jetgun, though even on Easy you will need to use other weapons as well.

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• The rocket launcher on Highway (map no. 2) has been made more visible as it is really not meant to be a secret

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• The casino level (map no. 7) has been made a little bit easier on Normal difficulty, removing some of the mechs later in the level. Additional rocket pickups have also been added and some existing ones made a bit more visible. The enemies remain untouched on Hard difficulty, you should know what you\'re getting yourself into.

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Key art for this update brought to you by CSAURAGEUL!

I want to make an official announcement I can reference for Steam Deck compatibility so I can link it from the store page. As of writing, most controllers will work on Native Linux even if they don\'t on Windows, but there is a big exception for the Steam Deck and Steam Controller.

Steam\'s peripherals are designed to be accessed through the Steamworks API which I haven\'t implemented. The intention had been so I can have the same build available on multiple storefronts and Steamworks by design doesn\'t work properly if Steam isn\'t running. On Linux this presents an annoying problem because these peripherals don\'t play by the same rules other controllers do and I don\'t have a Steam Deck handy to work with.

In the short term, the solution is to just not play the native Linux build on Steam Deck and instead launch the Windows version using Proton. In the long term I plan to eventually just have a Steam-specific version of the game that can have proper Steamworks support.

It\'s pretty frustrating that developing on Linux-first actually hinders Steam Deck support in this way but that\'s just how Valve set it up. Controller support was added quite late in development and if I\'d known this would be a problem I would have implemented it very differently.

I\'m launching a game on Steam for the first time, I can have a little day one patch as a treat.

• Added a little clipping in the Tutorial level to avoid getting stuck on the indoor palms

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• Fixed up the level descriptions in the level select hub, most of them still had changelogs from playtesting

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• Fixed up loadouts when you restart a level from the End Level screen (after you hit the button). It had been restoring your current loadout as that\'s what happens when you\'re going to the next level and the logic is mostly the same for restarting.

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Launch Day!

The time has finally come, Ctesiphon is live!

The launch version is set to 1.03 to keep parity with the demo. This does mean there\'s been a few changes and so previous saves will cause artifacts so it\'s recommended you only load autosaves from the end of a level so you can immediately push the button and progress.

Alternatively, the release version also has a Level Select option that lets you equip yourself however you like and skip ahead to whichever level you like with as much firepower as you can carry.

Changelog for v1.03

• Gamma slider has been added to Video settings.

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• Look speed resolution options have been increased for better fine-tuning.

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• Options to hide the HUD and player model have been added to game options. To avoid confusion, these will not be saved with the other options and so won\'t persist between launches.

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• Level 2 (The Highway) has had additional clip colliders placed to prevent getting stuck in 2-plane intersections or clipping through the map hull.

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• Restricted Quick Load key so it doesn\'t work in every menu screen like before. It is still usable from the Pause screen, Death screen, Level Completion screen, and from the Main Menu.

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• New secrets have been added to levels 2 and 3.

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• Level 3 has had some edits made near the exit building to prevent people climbing up the building from falling out of bounds and soft-locking themselves.

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Hey everyone,

I\'m hard at work finishing up the final touches on the game but wanted to make a formal announcement that CTESIPHON is coming November 26th. Be sure to wishlist the game if you haven\'t and check out the demo!\n\nThanks!

Behaviors

(Can\'t call it AI anymore)

• Grunts can now shoot over obstacles a bit easier. I want to do a dedicated animation for this eventually but for now if the grunt\'s muzzle is obscured the projectile will spawn up at eye height.

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• Cut down the pathfinding cooldown for the headless Cyborg Chargers so now they\'ll actually run straight at you even from a short distance. Originally they only updated their destination every second or so for out of fear all the navigation queries would have a performance impact.

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• The mechs now angle their arms independently to track you so they\'ll be a lot harder to exploit up close.

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Bugfixes

• All sound clips tied to entities are now cleared on map load, meaning you shouldn\'t hear Ethelyn\'s elaborate death scream anymore after hitting restart.

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• Fixed Windows build picking up R-Control as R-Shift, a typo meant this wasn\'t being handled properly.

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The third level from the full game has now been added to the demo in time for Next Fest. It had always been the intention to have three of the seven levels in the demo but I wanted to give do another pass over it to remove a couple of placeholders.

The game autosaves every time you hit the button to end a level, and while there was a hard compatibility break from v1.00 to v1.01, any saves made in level two on v1.01 can safely be loaded in v1.02 and all you have to do is hit the end level button again and you can immediately play the third level.

It\'s unlikely that there will be further changes to these three levels before release, and saves between the demo and the final version will be fully inter-compatible so provided there are no compatibility breaks you\'ll be able to load saves made in the demo within the full game and continue where you left off.

Changes in version 1.01

Compatibility Breaks

• Due to updating to a more recent version of Trenchbroom, many models had to have their default orientation changed. Because of this, all saves made with the previous build of the game are invalid and the game will prevent you from loading them. This won\'t be necessary for every update but it was unavoidable this time.

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Bugfixes

• Changed gamepad detection on Linux to query capabilities instead of searching for keywords in the file system. This should allow Steam Deck controls to be detected, but due to the weird way the deck reports its inputs to evdev it still isn\'t going to work properly for now. I don\'t have a Steam Deck of my own so it\'s pretty difficult to get it to work right.

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• Notifications are no longer visible when HUD is hidden

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• The theme song Island Hopping is now correctly played at full volume. Sound stream crossfading had only been being applied downwards.

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New Features

• Major sound balancing pass. Menu effects, and the gunshots of the Shotgun and Submachinegun have been softened to make them easier on the ears at full volume.

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• Optional aim assist when using a gamepad.

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• Gamepad rumble support with configurable strength. By default rumble is only triggered if actively using a gamepad, but it can be overriden to fire even when using the keyboard.

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• Dialog is now tied to actors in the map, so that messages can be interrupted and cut short

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• Made mech gibbing explosions much more dramatic

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• Interrupted messages can now trigger alternative dialog

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• Setting menus now ask for confirmation when you attempt to reset to defaults

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• Maps are now compiled with support for vertex-normals, such that illumination by the flashlight on curved surfaces should no longer be flat-shaded.

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• Map files now have a checksum for comparison with save files. If a map has been updated since a save in that map was written, a warning will be shown that the save may not restore correctly.

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I was a little too busy to properly announce anything ahead of time, but Ctesiphon got a spot in Zlimbratski\'s awesome Brutal Indies Unleashed Showcase!

Edit: The demo is now out right here on Steam!

[strike]Alas my humble trailer made a liar out of me and the demo isn\'t playable as of writing. However, the build was uploaded a few days ago and is merely awaiting approval from Steam. I will make it live as soon as I\'ve gotten the green light, most certainly early next week.[/strike]

Progress is steadily being made on Ctesiphon\'s full release. I\'ll need to crunch and will probably have to take some time off work but I\'m committed to releasing the game in November or December at the latest. In the meantime watch the VOD, subscribe to ZlimBratSki on Youtube, and try some of the many, many demos already featured in the showcase!