Hello, it has been a while since I've written to the community!

Incision has been in nonstop development for a whole year now, and even if I only released a single (very large) map this year, SOON(c) a lot more is coming! The shift from Episode 1's meat-hell cityscape to a more scifi alien themes was a bit more work than I could have expected. Most of this time has been just getting a whole new arsenal of enemies done, polishing the gameplay a bit, and getting the look of the scifi levels into quality that *I* expect from this game.

The next update, codename "Death-Filth" is coming soon and it will include quite a mountain of new and revamped content, bugfixes and small extras such as LUDICROUS GIBS! Here's a condensed list of what you can expect from it:

LEVELS

E2M1, "Harvest Vivarium"

This huge level has been split into two levels due to its length, density and also performance reasons. The level now ends after the "Mess" midboss fight, and E2M2 "Parasitic Relations" is the mall area after the Mess. The mall has a whole new very challenging area with amazing new music to go with it. This split should help with reported lower framerates and to keep the levels feel more fair in length knowing that losing all of your lives after 20-30 minutes of gameplay just isn't fun, and it went too far even for my pretty demanding standards.

E2M3, the episode's now titular "Death-Filth Medicine"

This alien ship full of containers of gore and blood include four new enemies of the Malichant faction, a mysterious alien race whose part in this story is still shrouded in mystery. The level also introduces underwater (or should I say underblood) sections, and a completely new theme with graphics made by pre-rendering 3D models into textures. The episode will also be renamed after this level.

NEW ENEMIES

Malichant Flock come in two variants, shotgun and chaingunner. They outrank most of Growth's creations in sheer damage output, but are big and slow targets.

The Sympaths are the game's first flying enemies with laser-drill eyes that may be slow to track you, but will cut you into pieces in seconds. They are weak, but move erratically and have the game's only hitscan weapon. What, a hitscan!? I am not joking.

The Favored are ninja-like experts with extreme movement speed, fastest projectiles, and ability to teleport near you to deal a nasty roundhouse kick from any distance. They will test your reflexes and reaction times more than any other foe you have faced.

WEAPONS

Jawbreaker has an altfire which shoots ricocheting pellets that gain damage every time they bounce, eventually igniting and burning enemies as well. It's more of a fun > function firing mode, but it offers a safer way to damage enemies from behind cover, and its power is immense in tight spaces.

Last thoughts and what's next

Next I will take a well-earned holiday vacation. After that, in January, it's time to start developing the first boss of this episode and E2M4. I want to release those two in the same update because bosses aren't very long experiences in the end. So, new boss, one new Malichant enemy, one level. I bet that sounds good for everyone.

As last message I want to thank everyone for their patience. Seriously. Incision is a solo project and the burnout from last year's crunch still haunts me occasionally. I have started changing my mindset, working habits (I'm a workaholic) and generally thinking about the game very differently, and I hope I can speed up the development next year in a healthier way. Making Harvest Vivarium taught me a hard lesson in pacing myself. I wanted to give people something after months of no updates, and I overdid it.

Going forward I want to make smaller maps more focus on making each feel unique and give players someting cool to see, more than before. It's not been wise to spend months on a single map. After all, a longer map is rarely a sign of quality! The fun you have playing a level is the only factor that matters.