Silly Polly Beast news & patch notes

Hello everyone,

Thank you for your continued support of Silly Polly Beast.

This is just a quick announcement that the 1.2 Update, prior accessed via the beta branch, is now live on the default branch. The changelog (mirrored from prior Steam post) can be found below:

New content:

• A new (optional) third-person camera mode has been added as a New Game+ feature. This mode is available to everyone from the start during the beta test to help with testing; afterward it will be available ONLY after completing the game once.

• Many locations have been reworked to accommodate the (optional) third-person view; background décor and visual effects have been added. Please note that some locations will appear in the old cinematic view due to their design.

• Polly gets covered in blood and dirt when her health is low.

Gameplay:

• The mouse aim-assist system has been reworked so players can choose targets more precisely.

• An interactive map has been added to the inventory in Episode 4 to make navigation easier.

• Almost all enemy i-frames that caused unexpected invulnerability during certain actions have been removed.

• The skate throw animation has been slightly sped up to make this attack more useful in combat.

• Some enemy attacks can now be interrupted with a skate hit.

• Trap bombs (both static and leg-mounted) now explode after two shots instead of four.

• Enemy colliders have been tuned more accurately.

Other improvements:

• In some locations, water reflections are now completely disabled when minimal reflection quality is selected in the settings, to optimize performance.

• Localization fixes.

• Fixes for some shaders.

• Numerous bug fixes, including critical ones related to important loot disappearing.

We hope you enjoy!

You can join the Anji Games Discord here to discuss this patch:

https://discord.gg/bA4MMjSbvr

Thank you very much for continuing to play and support Silly Polly Beast - your feedback helps make the game even better! Special thanks to the Anji Games Discord server for actively helping with testing the new update.

Some of you may have already seen some previews about what's been cooking - the biggest part of upcoming updates is a new third-person camera mode for New Game+! This is a new option that allows you to play the game from a different perspective, using a third-person camera that's over the shoulder of Polly, making it feel like an entirely new experience again. Please note that some locations will appear in the old cinematic view due to their design.

In the full game, the new third-person camera mode will be available as part of New Game+, meaning it'll be accessible only after finishing the game at least once. However, as we'd like to gather your thoughts and feedback on the new mode, for the purpose of a public beta test it'll be available from the start in a special test version of Silly Polly Beast.

As it's a very different and new way to play the game compared to the regular camera, we want to be sure it's hitting the right notes - hence the public beta test in order to gather your feedback! Based on your thoughts, we'll refine it more before updating the main version of the game.

In order to take part in the beta test, please do the following:

• Go to your Steam library entry for Silly Polly Beast

• Right-click and select properties

• Go to the beta tab

• Under the private beta heading, input as the access code "wantacracker" (with no quotes). This should unlock the beta testing branch

• Now, under the beta participation heading, choose from the drop-down menu the beta - beta testing branch.

• Ensure the beta downloads.

• Launch the game, then from the main menu go to settings and press the button with 5 question marks (?????) five times - this will activate the third-person mode without having to complete the game

• If you'd like to leave the beta and return to the main default version of the game, go back to the dropdown menu and select none.

A brief overview regarding what's in this beta test:

New content:

• A new third-person camera mode has been added as a New Game+ feature. This mode is available to everyone from the start during the beta test to help with testing; afterward it will be available ONLY after completing the game once.

• Many locations have been reworked to accommodate the third-person view; background décor and visual effects have been added. Please note that some locations will appear in the old cinematic view due to their design.

• Polly gets covered in blood and dirt when her health is low.

Gameplay:

• The mouse aim-assist system has been reworked so players can choose targets more precisely.

• An interactive map has been added to the inventory in Episode 4 to make navigation easier.

• Almost all enemy i-frames that caused unexpected invulnerability during certain actions have been removed.

• The skate throw animation has been slightly sped up to make this attack more useful in combat.

• Some enemy attacks can now be interrupted with a skate hit.

• Trap bombs (both static and leg-mounted) now explode after two shots instead of four.

• Enemy colliders have been tuned more accurately.

Other improvements:

• In some locations, water reflections are now completely disabled when minimal reflection quality is selected in the settings, to optimize performance.

• Localization fixes.

• Fixes for some shaders.

• Numerous bug fixes, including critical ones related to important loot disappearing.

We hope you enjoy! Please leave your feedback about the beta test and your experiences with the new third-person camera as it really helps! You can join the discussion channel about the test in the Anji Games Discord here:

https://discord.gg/bA4MMjSbvr

Hi all, as part of our effort to address your feedback and show appreciation for your continued support of SILLY POLLY BEAST, we're happy to say that a new patch is available for the game! This patch continues to builds on some of the more important improvements which were shipped in earlier patches, and smooths out the game behavior further. As you read this, it should shortly become available on the main/default branch.

In addition to fine-tuning the balance and fixing several small issues, this patch sees the addition of a new difficulty mode: Hard+. This mode is a truly difficult option, intended for those who want the hardest challenge possible and to test their skills to the limits!

Below is a changelog of what's addressed by patch 1.1:

New content:

• A new Hard+ mode has been added, in which Polly almost always dies with the first hit. The difficulty cannot be adjusted in this mode due the game.

• In Hard+ mode, Polly has a patch on her nose.

• Completing the game in this mode awards a small symbolic reward

Improvements:

• Steamdeck's default resolution is now set to 1280x720.

• Polly now removes her glasses in two cutscenes (if she’s wearing them) to help the player better understand what’s happening.

• Added options to set 30/60/120 FPS mode in graphic settings for vsync on/off (by default, vsync is on + 60 fps is set at start-up)

• The rain effect in Episode 3 has been improved and optimized.

• Enemy magic and physical shields can now be instantly destroyed by throwing the skateboard at them - except when the magic shield is applied by a totem

Balance:

• Slightly reduced incoming damage on Easy and Normal

• Reduced enemy invulnerability time during certain actions

• Wolf bite damage slightly reduced on Easy and Normal

• The width of the platform during the ep4 boss fight on the roof now depends on the difficulty level; the easier the difficulty level, the wider the platform

• The damage from stings at the edges of the fog has been rebalanced

• Stamina recovers a bit faster

• The balancing of the final boss has been improved.

Fixes:

• Reduced the minimum size for characters in Polly's speech bubble, in order to avoid clipping of non-latin fonts.

• Various localization fixes

• Improved collision checking of characters with the world and objects

• Raven Totem collider fixed

• Fixed collider issues in some locations in Episode 5.

Also, as mentioned prior, we have archived older, pre-balancing builds rather than getting rid of them for those who prefer certain builds. In case you missed it from the last post, the initial release variant of the game can be still accessed via branch password "archivedbuilds" (no quotes). For those who prefer the pre-balance changes of the game, we want to ensure these builds were still accessible. Note we cannot back-patch issues such as TAA and Font fixes however, which are included in the now-live build on the main/default branch of the game.

As always, thank you for your support of Silly Polly Beast! For those who've supported the game elsewhere, the patch is currently being tested on consoles, and will be available there once certified by platforms.

If you enjoyed the game and would like to discuss it further or have a faster way of leaving feedback, feel free to join on Discord!

Developer's Discord: https://discord.gg/NTCSrmCNcn

Publisher's Discord: https://discord.gg/yy7javF

Hello everyone!

Thank you for your continued support of Silly Polly Beast. We just rolled out a new patch today which addresses some miscellaneous remaining issues and concerns which trail from the prior patch from last week. As a quick note, don't be confused by the "1.0" - this is internal versioning and does not refer to the actual version of the game relative to release candidate. As a note to those who have supported the game elsewhere, this patch will also be rolled out on consoles within the next day or two.

You can find the changelog below.

Balancing:

• Mrs. Smith's speed has been rebalanced in the Episode 5 boss fight.

• Player can now deflect grenades back at enemies.

• Several location fixes in Episodes 2, 3 and 5, preventing softlock situations and possible geometry issues

• Small chance to get B-ammo drop from the random box.

Bugs/other:

• Fixed font clipping/cut-off with non-Latin characters for long text strings

• Fixed a bug where the player couldn’t scroll through phone messages using a gamepad

• Fixed the "red tint issue" on certain displays using HDR & YUV422/Non-RGB color formats

• TAA-related Shader Fixes

• Fixes to one shader causing an issue on some displays

As mentioned in our last post, we will continue to keep an eye out for player feedback and continue to improve the user experience. This patch has been rolled out to sync both the main and beta branches, so this patch is now out on both.

Also, as mentioned prior, we have archived older, pre-balancing builds rather than getting rid of them for those who prefer certain builds. In case you missed it from the last post, the initial release variant of the game can be still accessed via branch password "archivedbuilds" (no quotes). For those who prefer the pre-balance changes of the game, we want to ensure these builds were still accessible. Note we cannot back-patch issues such as TAA and Font fixes however, which are included in the now-live build on main & beta.

You can also join the developer's discord here for quicker feedback and question submissions:

https://discord.gg/NTCSrmCNcn

Thank you again for the support on the title everyone! It means a lot to us and we hope you continue to enjoy Silly Polly Beast!

Hi everyone,

Happy to say that based on player feedback from our past two beta updates, we have migrated the beta patch onto the main branch. Here is the full changelog (partially mirrored from past beta posts):

Balancing:

• Rebalanced ammo/health loot and introduced balanced mechanics (in easy/normal mode) for engagement in battle vs replenishments

• Reduced cost of healing items

• Enemies now alert before throwing a stone,

• Bullet barrels no longer automatically extinguish at the start of a battle — only if bullets are collected

• Balancing to ensure soft-lock situations are eliminated, particularly lacking health during boss battles

• New boxes have been added in some locations that can, algorithmically, contain items

• Hard mode remains unchanged, without additional rebalancing or mechanical changes

• Frequency of loot and scaling better balanced for easy and normal mode

• Better normal mode scaling

• Tweaks to enemy AI

• Tweaks to player stamina

• Additional tweaks to balancing based on player feedback

• Additional fixes for possible soft-lock scenarios

• Fixes for edge-case soft-lock conditions

Bugs/Other:

• Improved P90 shot sound

• Slightly tweaked throwing rock model scale

• Fixed non-TAA antialiasing flashing screen,

• Fixed several cases that blocked the game's progress,

• Fixed minimum text size for non-Latin & non-Cyrillic fonts causing cut-offs in some areas

• Spikes no longer attack the player if loot is on them

• Additional graphical fixes

As we roll out this patch, we will continue to keep an eye out for player feedback and continue to improve the user experience. We will keep up the beta branch as well (although as of this post, it is identical to main) - any short term future balancing fixes will first go to beta for feedback before being mirrored on main.

Also, we are archiving older builds rather than getting rid of them for those who prefer certain builds. The initial release variant of the game can be still accessed via branch password "archivedbuilds" (no quotes). For those who prefer the pre-balance changes of the game, we want to ensure these builds were still accessible. Note we cannot back-patch issues such as TAA and Font fixes however, which are included in the now-live build on main & beta.

You can also join the developer's discord here for quicker feedback and question submissions:

https://discord.gg/TzKH63a4

Thank you again for the support on the title everyone! It means a lot to us and we hope you continue to enjoy Silly Polly Beast!

Hello everyone!

Thank you for your continued feedback for the game. We have just pushed a new update live on the opt-in beta branch, which was discussed in detail in our last update post here:

As a reminder, you can access the beta branch with password "wantacracker" (be sure to remove quotes). This will give you access to the current balancing-in-progress version.

Remember - this current patch is a WIP! Changes present in this version are not final.

Here is the changelog for this update:

• Further small tweaks to balancing

• Additional fixes for possible soft-locks

• Fixes for edge-case soft-lock conditions

• Additional graphical fixes

The main branch should have an update soon based on this build. Thank you again for your continued support!

Once again, please be sure to leave feedback (either in comments here or on the forums) with feedback on this update. As stated prior, our goal is to provide a definitive middleground to address valid critique without overcorrecting and removing difficulty altogether. This version takes into consideration prior feedback from our last opt-in version and also fixes some additional bugs in regards to soft-locks.

You can also join the developer's discord here for quicker feedback and question submissions: https://discord.gg/TzKH63a4

Hi everyone!

We've heard your feedback and and are currently working on addressing common points of feedback as well as bug reports which have come in during the post-release period. We're looking forward to rolling out this upcoming update, but want to ensure balancing is in the right place. After all, we do not want to overcorrect - our concern is smoothing the experience of the game rather than wholly changing it.

Since we'd like to do a bit more internal testing ourselves as well, we figured we would roll out this update on a branch in the meantime for public feedback ahead of this being rolled out definitively. We figure it will be a few more days before this will be wholly public on the main branch.

You can access the beta branch with password "wantacracker" (be sure to remove quotes). This will give you access to the current balancing-in-progress version.

Remember - this current patch is a WIP! Changes present in this version are not final.

Here's our changelog for this update, and what to expect in the build:

Balancing:

• Rebalanced ammo/health loot and introduced balanced mechanics (in easy/normal mode) for engagement in battle vs replenishments

• Reduced cost of healing items

• Enemies now alert before throwing a stone,

• Bullet barrels no longer automatically extinguish at the start of a battle — only if bullets are collected

• Balancing to ensure soft-lock situations are eliminated, particularly lacking health during boss battles

• New boxes have been added in some locations that can, algorithmically, contain items

• Hard mode remains unchanged, without additional rebalancing or mechanical changes

• Frequency of loot and scaling better balanced for easy and normal mode

• Better normal mode scaling

• Tweaks to enemy AI

• Tweaks to player stamina

Bugs/Other:

• Improved P90 shot sound

• Slightly tweaked throwing rock model scale

• Fixed non-TAA antialiasing flashing screen,

• Fixed several cases that blocked the game's progress,

• Fixed minimum text size for non-Latin & non-Cyrillic fonts causing cut-offs in some areas

• Spikes no longer attack the player if loot is on them

Please be sure to leave feedback (either in comments here or on the forums) with feedback on this update. Our goal is to provide a definitive middleground to address valid critique without overcorrecting and removing difficulty altogether. Most changes address difficulty in easy and normal modes specifically.

There is also the game's publisher's Discord for reporting feedback: https://discord.gg/yy7javF

We hope you all enjoy and thank you again for supporting Silly Polly Beast!

Hello all you abyss dwellers,

First of all, thank you for all the support shown for Silly Polly Beast! We're all immensely happy with the enthusiasm shown for the game and how many people have turned up to support the launch. Between all the discussions, comments, and reviews, we really appreciate the level of interest and care that a lot of you have about the game - even when talking about some of the points you'd like to see improved.

We've heard you loud and clear and are taking steps to address feedback. A patch is in-the-works to smooth up and improve certain aspects of Silly Polly Beast.

In short, the update will address the following:

• Preventing all situations where the player is forced to fight without enough health or weapons, or situations which some players have compared to unintentional "soft-locks",

• Improving combat balance and tweaking enemy AI

• Modifying difficulty scaling

• Fixing spike traps so that loot can be safely collected from them,

• Fixing various dead-end situations where the player is forced to fight tough enemies without ammo,

• Improving the logic of loot drops from defeated enemies so that it better matches what the player currently needs.

The intention is for this update/patch to be available within the next few days; once it's available, we'll be sure to let everyone know!

Thank you again to everyone for your support!

Hi everyone,

There's been a quick hotfix to address the issue where a shader acted incorrectly upon throwing a larva when TAA was disabled. The shader should now act correctly regardless of TAA setting. No other changes have been made in this patch.

Thank you for supporting Silly Polly Beast!

It's finally time. Accept that you must fight; monsters seek to shred you, the fog will smother everything, and the past can never be escaped. Silly Polly Beast is OUT NOW!

Check out the brand new launch trailer below:

Thank you to everyone who has followed the game this far and been supportive, especially of the demo release. We are incredibly proud to finally release Silly Polly Beast and hope everyone will enjoy the game and all that it has to offer.

If do enjoy it and want to support us, please consider leaving us a review. It means a lot to us as a small developer. Thank you again to everyone, and enjoy!

Hi everyone!

We're back again ahead of our launch tomorrow. It's hard to believe, isn't it? Just 24 hours remain until the game's launch tomorrow, the 28th. It's been quite a journey to get here, and we can't believe the release is right around the corner. We're excited (and so is Polly!) are you as well? We hope you've enjoyed all the comics we've had leading up to release; we have our last one below!

Just to reiterate one final time in case you missed it in past posts too, Silly Polly Beast releases on the above date at 11am ET / 8am PT / 15:00 UTC. As mentioned prior, the game will be $19.99 / 16.75 GBP / 19.50 EUR / руб.650 / 58 CNY (other prices are regional as well). There will be a 15% launch discount for 2 weeks.

We hope you enjoy the comic (and the others in the series!) and see you tomorrow! We're extremely excited for the game's release.

Hi everyone!

We're back again with our next comic! Can you believe it? Only 4 days remain until the game's launch this Tuesday, the 28th. Today's comic features two characters from Polly's past, including her ever important sister Alice. Poor Polly, will she ever be noticed?

Just one more time in case you missed it in past posts, Silly Polly Beast releases on the above date at 11am ET / 8am PT / 15:00 UTC. As mentioned prior, he game will be $19.99 / 16.75 GBP / 19.50 EUR / руб.650 / 58 CNY (other prices are regional as well). There will be a 15% launch discount for 2 weeks.

As usual, we hope you enjoy the comic and see you next Tuesday on the 28th!

Hi everyone!

We're back again with our next comic! Less than a week remains until the game's launch on the 28th. Today's comic features a certain...animal you'll see a lot of in game.

One more time in case you missed it in past posts, Silly Polly Beast releases on the above date at 11am ET / 8am PT / 15:00 UTC. As mentioned prior, he game will be $19.99 / 16.75 GBP / 19.50 EUR / руб.650 / 58 CNY (other prices are regional as well). There will be a 15% launch discount for 2 weeks.

As usual, we hope you enjoy the comic and see you next Tuesday on the 28th!

Hi everyone!

We're back again with our next comic! Can you believe there's only a tiny bit more than a week until launch? Today's comic features a certain important character in Polly's history...

Just to reiterate, Silly Polly Beast releases on October 28th! We'll be releasing at 11am ET / 8am PT / 15:00 UTC. As mentioned in our last post, the game will be $19.99 / 16.75 GBP / 19.50 EUR / руб.650 / 58 CNY (other prices are regional as well). There will be a 15% launch discount for 2 weeks.

We hope you enjoy the comic and see you next Tueday on the 28th!

Hi everyone!

We're back again with our next comic! This one features a mechanic which there's been a lot of love for in our trailers - skateboarding!

Once again, in case you missed our announcement yesterday, Silly Polly Beast releases on October 28th! We'll be releasing at 11am ET / 8am PT / 15:00 UTC.

We also have seen a lot of questions regarding pricing. The game will be $19.99 / 16.75 GBP / 19.50 EUR / руб.650 / 58 CNY (other prices are regional as well). There will be a 15% launch discount for 2 weeks.

We hope you enjoy the comic and see you on the 28th!

Hi everyone!

In case you missed our announcement yesterday, Silly Polly Beast releases on October 28th! We'll be releasing at 11am ET / 8am PT / 15:00 UTC.

Following up though, we'll be posting a series of comics ahead of the release to make the wait a little bit more bearable. These won't be daily, but will be posted on a revolving basis leading up to launch.

You can find the first comic below!

We hope everyone enjoys the little bonus comics - see you on the 28th!

Hello everyone!

We are extremely excited to announce that Silly Polly Beast releases on October 28th at 11am EDT / 8am PDT / 15:00 UTC on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox. You can find our new trailer in support of said announcement below:

We couldn't be more excited to finally share Silly Polly Beast with the world. See you there on October 28th. In the meantime...want a cracker?

Hi everyone,

Happy to announce that as part of the latest edition of our publisher's showcase, we have announced that Silly Polly Beast will be releasing on Steam, PS5, and Xbox this October!

Check out the brand new trailer announcing such below, and get a deeper peak into the world of Silly Polly Beast.

Thank you to everyone for your support and see you in October! We will be announcing the specific date with a separate very trailer soon.

Hey everyone!

In line with last week's announcement, we wanted to remind everyone we'll be participating in our publisher's showcase tomorrow with some exciting major news at 1pm ET / 10am PT / 5pm UTC. You can check out the showcase below:

Check out the following links for mirrors:

Twitch:

Youtube:

Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/publisher/tophatstudios

Other partners will also be co-streaming, including Gamespot.

See you all tomorrow!!

Hey everyone!

Happy to announce there will be MAJOR news regarding the game in the Top Hat Studios Fall Showcase on September 23rd. Tune in at 10am PDT / 1pm EDT / 5pm UTC at any of the channels listed below (or here on Steam of course!). See you there!

Check out a teaser for the showcase below:

Twitch: tophatstudiosen

Youtube:

Steam:

https://store.steampowered.com/publisher/tophatstudios

Hey all, happy to announce we recently released a new trailer in partnership with the MIX for their Fall Showcase. This shorter form trailer shows off more about the game's world and the depths that await poor Polly. It's available to view below:

We're also happy to announce that the game is scheduled to release this fall. We will be back soon soon with a more specific release date - things are likely closer than you think! Thank you to everyone for your support on the game so far.