Horace news & patch notes

There has never been a better time to jump in Horace! Save 40% for a limited time and experience this hidden gem about a small robot on a big adventure. Need a reason to buy the game? Well, here are 5: “Horace really could be one of the most charming games of the year.” Eurogamer “An endearing, nostalgic, platforming masterpiece” The Digital Fix “A real contender for Indie Game of the Year” The Sixth Axis “Horace is a treat, and very well worth getting hold of” Get Indie Gaming “If I play a better game than Horace this year, I’ll be surprised” VGAlmanac Save 30% on the Soundtrack too and complete your Horace collection!

We noticed that some of our players were experiencing some bugs since our last update and this hotfix aims to fix those bugs we have seen our players experiencing. - Fix for any previously collected junk respawning on re-entering certain rooms when continuing a saved position from an older version of the game. - Fix for a progression blocking bug that could occur in the Prison section of the game if player was killed at the same time as unlocking a door. If you have encountered this problem you should now be able to proceed with your existing save game. - Some minor graphical and gameplay tweaks we noticed whilst watching people playing the game online. Thanks to all you lovely streamers for playing our game! We hope you continue to enjoy playing Horace!

It's not been long since our last content update and we have some more content for you to enjoy in our latest v1.5.2 patch along with a couple of fixes. See the full patch notes below: * Hats! Once you've beaten the final boss in the game you'll notice that hat stands with a variety of fun head gear have appeared in the game world. Tap up when you find one to exchange your current hat for the one hanging on the hat stand. * Photo Booths! Another reward for beating the final boss is the addition of Photo Prize Booths. Have your photo taken and if you're rocking the correct head fashion you could win a prize that will make reaching the ultimate goal of a million items of junk a little easier. * Fixes for people suffering from some broken save game issues. Some players have suffered problems where the player would restart in an out of world position or without the Nuee Shoees. Fixes have been made which will hopefully get your save game working again in the majority of cases. * More robust handling of quitting the game with Alt+F4. Feedback from some users made us realise that quitting the game using the Alt+F4 Windows shortcut could lead to broken save games. Unfortunately we haven't been able to put in a fix to heal save games broken in this manner, but we have made the game saving code more robust so that quitting the game in this manner should no longer yield a broken save position. We would still recommend pausing and quitting to the title screen, then pressing Escape to quit as a preference.

Surprise! We are continuing to release new content for Horace and this small update brings some exciting new ideas that you won't want to miss! Features * The Ninja Suit! This becomes available to buy in the in-game shops towards the end of the game. It not only looks really cool but also gives you five seconds of absolute invulnerability, which should make reaching the magic 1,000,000 junk a bit easier. * Portable Game Guy Device! Also available to buy in the in-game shops is the GameGuy, a portable gaming device in glorious green-tinted monochrome. It comes bundled with a new mini game that can only be played on the GameGuy. The full range of arcade games are available in GameGuy versions too, but you'll have to find or buy the cartridges to play them. * Some new rooms to explore towards the end of the game. Think of this as a bit of a Director's cut version of the games concluding chapter. * Hopefully a fix for the dreaded black background bug that a minority of players have noticed. We say "hopefully" because it's not something we've been able to reproduce, and every time we spoke to somebody who was experiencing the problem it would suddenly magically fix itself just as we were about to try something new. * Game completion achievements had a bug meaning if you completed the game with one million junk you couldn't then get the achievement for completing with less than a million. Fixed so that both achievements will now pop, and also if you load a saved game completed with more than one million this will also pop the less than a million achievement. * Various other bugs and improvements We hope you enjoy turning invisible or trying out the Game Guy for the first time and please keep sharing your feedback on the game. A big thank you for your feedback so far. The Horace Team

As many of our players will already know, Horace was developed over 7 years and was made by just two people. Labor of Love is certainly an apt nomination for this year’s Steam awards given the dedication and passion from developers Paul Helman and Sean Scaplehorn. Please consider nominating Horace for the Labor of Love Award at the Steam Awards 2019 and share your vote with your friends. Since launching the game, more content has been added and we have also released the Soundtrack on Steam. There is still more content in the pipeline so we hope people, both new and old, jump into the game in the near future!

A big thank you to everyone that has played Horace - your positive feedback has been amazing and it's great to hear how much the game has impacted some of our players. Now the power is in your hands! If you shed a tear (or many tears), cheered or booed any of the characters or belly laughed out loud then please consider nominating Horace for the Outstanding Story-Rich Game Award at the Steam Awards 2019. If you do vote for Horace, be sure to share your vote with your friends and thank you again for all your support.

Great news, the Horace Official Soundtrack has now available on Steam! Relive the unforgettable journey of a small robot on a big adventure with 42 classic chip tunes of classic songs and originals by developer, Paul Helman. Out Now ➡️ https://bit.ly/34dPDxU {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/35351066/30014df7e91f8786e646c43a118eb892afced2e2.gif

Firstly, we would like to thank everyone who has played Horace so far, your support has been amazing. Whether you have finished the game or are just setting out on the robot's adventure, we are bringing some new content for you to enjoy in our latest v1.4.0 update. See below for a full list of features: Features {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/35351066/4e85e7673b7a1cf5d4f147ced1356183af804ded.jpg * The Time Machine will allow players to revisit old boss fights completed during normal gameplay. By revisiting boss battles and achieving better results, players can unlock in-game movies and music tracks for the Cinema and Gramophone. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/35351066/dde631ae2d0b331796e2132410b88c6596e26bac.jpg * The Cinema will allow players to re-watch their favorite cutscenes from the game. Cutscenes are unlocked through normal gameplay, by beating boss challenges in The Time Machine or by picking up a Bad RAM item from the game. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/35351066/3cae25bb9232e4ff53f38d3e0dc2f4c8d2c9d6ae.jpg * The Gramaphone lets players listen to musical tracks featured in the game. Tracks are unlocked through normal gameplay or by revisiting boss battles in The Time Machine. Fixes * Improvements to game frame rate which should eliminate the juddery motion noticed by some players. * Lots of other minor graphical and gameplay tweaks.

Following community feedback from our last patch we are releasing a smaller hotfix to improve some of the game play and fix some bugs. Full patch notes below. Horace Patch Notes (v 1.3.1) * Fixes for music tracks playing over the top of some cut scenes towards the end of the game, making the cut scene audio hard to hear. * Fix for the game not restarting the Air Boss if player starts the battle, then quits to the title screen. On resuming save game Air Boss will now spawn correctly. * Fix for the game getting stuck in an infinite loop of the robot falling into space if trying to play the burning house section with a shield orb. Save games affected by this bug should work correctly on this new version. * Fixed a problem with the Egyptian boss which caused it to sometimes stop spawning rocks for the player to throw back. * Changed the way that the battery unit slots into its receiver in Robot Lab Backup Generator as some players are reporting issues with it locking into place. * Modified the helicopter boss battle collision detection as some players were reporting difficulties in destroying it.

We have just released a new hotfix (v1.3) for Horace which will fix some bugs that have been fed back from the community and improve the overall balance of the game.Thanks again for your support and we hope you continue to enjoy Horace. Hotfix Patch Notes (v1.3) * Improvements to Repo Yard rooms to make it easier for player to jump using the Shoes. * Fixed bug when entering the tunnel in Mainton resulted in the player being stuck on a black screen and unable to progress. * Made the receiver for the experimental battery in the Robot Labs grab the battery more quickly. * Fix for the player sometimes falling off the ends of conveyor belts if running fast around them. * Fix for softlock bug in Robot Labs Elevator. Player should no longer be able to enter the area behind the sparks until they have the correct ability to do so. Also added a fix so that if the player has managed to get stuck on the wrong side of the sparks they will be teleported to a valid position on reloading their save game. * Fix for player getting stuck falling forever if they resume a save game battling the Security Robot in the TV Studio. * Sound levels have been adjusted across the game so that music, sound effects and cut scene volumes should now be more evenly balanced. * It is now possible to abort the Rhythm King arcade game. * On resuming a save game, if the player has any shield orbs they will initially be activated. Shields can be toggled on and off using the Y button. * Several boss encounters have been adjusted to include extra restart points or have slightly modified attack patterns to help rebalance some of the more frustrating difficulty peaks noticed by the developers whilst watching other people playing the game. * Additional shield pickups have been added in some rooms to provide help to the player (if wanted!) on some of the trickier platforming sections. * Fix the the parcel stamping job sometimes getting unsynchronised and causing progress banners to appear at incorrect times. * Fix for game freezing on a black screen when loading a saved game from one of the flying dream sequences. * Support for additional buttons input on some joypads (e.g. PS4) when using the redefine joypad inputs menu. * There are now some switches in East Gallery Ground Floor which allow the player to turn off the lasers temporarily so they can pass through the room from left to right, which can be useful after beating some of the mansion bosses. * Lots of other little tweaks and fixes to minor gameplay and graphical issues that have been reported.

Thanks to everyone who has bought Horace – your positive comments have been overwhelming. We are flattered by the complements but we know some of you have experienced some bugs since launch. Great news! We have just released a new patch (v1.2) which should clean up issues that you have raised making Horace even better! Thanks again for your feedback and we hope you continue to enjoy Horace. PATCH NOTES (V 1.2) - Improved support for other screen resolutions and monitor refresh rates. If you are still experiencing screen resolution problems with this build then please try holding SHIFT whilst launching the game. This will provide a dialog box with available screen resolutions and the ability to run the game full screen or in windowed mode. - Frame rate related fixes. Some people with faster PC configurations may have experienced issues with the player robot not behaving correctly in some rooms (e.g. the battery placing room). These should now be fixed. - Some minor graphics fixes in some parts of the game. Unfortunately the V1.2 build does not solve the problem of missing backgrounds that some people are reporting. We are still trying to work out what the cause for this issue is. https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/35351066/b5d1961e5126ba6db3b4d98e95f5366a2b36c62d.jpg

“Horace is the best indie game I’ve played in a very long time, and already is at the top of my Game of the Year list. If I play a better game than Horace this year, I’ll be very surprised. It’s a must have.” Read more... https://vgalmanac.com/reviews/horace-review/ https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/35351066/6aae29e5a4110ca0e3d9f771762f906006170b8f.jpg

We're excited to announce that Horace is OUT NOW on Steam! A platforming game at heart with metroidvania-inspired abilities to be unlocked as players progress through the game, Horace invites players to overcome challenging puzzles and defeat difficult bosses while evoking a range of emotions that will leave some laughing, crying and cheering their way through a touching narrative. Save 10% for a limited time! https://youtu.be/ESmao3XvT2E

Hi everyone! As you may or may not know, Horace is scheduled to launch later on TODAY! A platforming game at heart with metroidvania-inspired abilities to be unlocked as players progress through the game, Horace invites players to overcome challenging puzzles and defeat difficult bosses while evoking a range of emotions that will leave some laughing, crying and cheering their way through a touching narrative. In the run up to launch, we wanted to cover a bunch of FAQs. Got any questions in addition to the ones answered below? Leave them in the comments and we’ll answer as many as we can. Q: WHEN DOES HORACE LAUNCH ONTO STEAM? A: Horace launches on July 18th, 2019. Q: WHAT IS HORACE ALL ABOUT? A: Horace is a story-driven, platform game peppered with nostalgic, popular culture references which will bring a smile to any gamer who enjoys the 8 and 16 bit era. Learn how to master your strongest robot abilities and reunite Horace with his long-lost family. Adventure across the world – and time and space – to save mankind from total destruction. Run and jump your way through a comical but touching story told by the charming robot protagonist and use your wits to overcome classic 2D platforming challenges, all whilst cleaning up the mess left behind from the Robot War! Experience tons of variety along the way with parodies of classic mini games ranging from rhythm action to FPS. Q: HOW MUCH WILL HORACE COST? A: 505 Games is presenting players with an opportunity to help determine the launch price of Horace on Steam with a simple call-to-action of wishlisting the game from the official Steam page. Four wishlist tiers for Horace have been created, each with a corresponding launch discount reward only activated for players once the tier threshold is met. If the final tier is reached by the community on Steam on or before the outlined deadline of Tuesday, July 16, Horace will be available for purchase to all players for as little as $3.75, €3.75, £2.50 (75% off) at launch for one week. There’s not much time left so be quick! The game will convert back to its original full purchase price of $14.99/€14.99/£9.99 after the launch discount window concludes. Wishlist Tiers and Corresponding Launch Discount Rewards… • Tier 1: 1K wishlists = $13.49, €13.49, £8.99 (10% discount) • Tier 2: 50K wishlists = $11.25, €11.25, £7.50 (25% discount) • Tier 3 100K wishlists = $7.50, €7.50, £4.99 (50% discount) • Tier 4: 200K wishlists – $3.75, €3.75, £2.50 (75% discount) Q: WHAT ABOUT CONSOLE? A: Right now, we have no plans to bring Horace to console. But should this ever change in the future, we will let you know here on our social channels. Q: WHERE CAN I WISHLIST HORACE? A: Head over to Steam to wishlist Horace! https://store.steampowered.com/app/629090/Horace/ Q: WILL HORACE EVER LAUNCH PHYSICALLY AT RETAIL? A: There are currently no plans to launch Horace at retail. Q: HOW MANY HOURS WILL I GET OUT OF HORACE? A: It’s hard to say for sure. Horace could take you 20-30 hours to complete, depending on your familiarity with platforming and puzzle games. There is a ton of content available and you may spend hours procrastinating in the arcades in game. Q: WHAT ARE THE SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS IN ORDER TO RUN HORACE? MINIMUM: OS: Windows 7 Processor: Intel i5 Memory: 4 GB RAM Graphics: Any DX12 graphics card DirectX: Version 12 Storage: 12 GB available space Sound Card: Any, onboard RECOMMENDED: OS: Windows 10 Processor: Intel i7 Memory: 8 GB RAM Graphics: Any DX12 graphics card DirectX: Version 12 Storage: 12 GB available space Sound Card: Any, or onboard Q: WHICH LANGUAGES WILL HORACE SUPPORT? A: Horace supports English VO only but will have subtitles for French, German, Italian and Spanish. Q: WHERE CAN I FIND MORE INFORMATION ON HORACE? A: Please visit the 505 Games website for more info on Horace – https://505games.com/games/horace/ Q: CAN I CAPTURE / STREAM HORACE AT LAUNCH? A: Absolutely! Be sure to include our social handles in your content so we can check it out ourselves. Will you be downloading Horace when we launch later on today? Let us know in the comments below…

Another day, another Horace mini game to showcase! Get ready to take to the track in DayOff, coming to Horace NEXT WEEK when we launch on Steam. (July 18) Got any questions? Let us know in the comments below... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nR6kVsbLrao

DID YOU KNOW - Earlier this week, we announced Horace, a story-driven, pixel-platform adventure coming to Steam on July 18, 2019. Horace comes packed with a wide range of mini games, many of which are inspired by classic games in pop culture history. Take a look at Anabolympics, just one of the mini games featured... For more info and to wishlist Horace, head over to our Steam store page! https://youtu.be/YGNZQvdOMl0

We’re excited and thrilled to announce that 505 Games will bring Horace, to Steam for PC on Thursday, July 18. A platforming game at heart with metroidvania-inspired abilities to be unlocked as players progress through the game, Horace invites players to overcome challenging puzzles and defeat difficult bosses while evoking a range of emotions that will leave some laughing, crying and cheering their way through a touching narrative. 505 Games is presenting players with an opportunity to help determine the launch price of Horace on Steam with a simple call-to-action of wishlisting the game from the official Steam page. Four wishlist tiers for Horace have been created, each with a corresponding launch discount reward only activated for players once tier threshold is met. If the final tier is reached by the community on Steam on or before the outlined deadline of Tuesday, July 16, Horace will be available for purchase to all players for as little as $3.75, €3.75, £2.50 (75% off) at launch for one week. The game will convert back to its original full purchase price of $14.99/€14.99/£9.99 after the launch discount window concludes. Wishlist Tiers and Corresponding Launch Discount Rewards… • Tier 1: 1K wishlists = $13.49, €13.49, £8.99 (10% discount) • Tier 2: 50K wishlists = $11.25, €11.25, £7.50 (25% discount) • Tier 3 100K wishlists = $7.50, €7.50, £4.99 (50% discount) • Tier 4: 200K wishlists – $3.75, €3.75, £2.50 (75% discount) Developed by Paul Helman and Sean Scaplehorn, Horace is a delightful platformer which centers around an inspiring story of following one’s dreams. Paul Helman quit his job with the vision of creating a game he always wanted to play. Over the next six years, Horace was born with the ultimate aim of pairing a sprawling open world with a great story not typically associated with platform games. Inspired by recent indie gems and classic fan-favorites of the genre, Horace seeks to make an emotional connection through storytelling and features full cut scenes throughout to create a cinematic platform experience. Horace also comes packed with a host of mini games peppered throughout, many of which are inspired by classic games in pop culture history. A true labor of love, Horace is a hand-crafted experience that is sure to delight fans of the 8-bit and 16-bit era. Follow the Horace community at: https://twitter.com/horacedev https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUCBPbMN34E