TOXICANT — patch notes and updates
Stored observation / content update:
Dated developer announcements recorded from Steam. Open the source for the complete update.
| Update | Date | Excerpt / source |
|---|---|---|
| Rampage! Update Now Available! | 2025-05-26 | I'm pleased to announce that the Rampage! update is now available. This updates adds the following: A new shotgun item in the main game mode. Ammo is extremely limited, so you’ll still need to play the game largely as originally designed, but it will most certainly get you out of a bind more than any other weapon. A new game mode: Rampage! mode, unlocked by finding the shotgun in the main game mode. In this mode you spawn with a fully loaded shotgun, and the level generation logic has been altered to for a more action-oriented experience (fewer tunnels, more enemies, more ammo spawns, etc.). While ammo is still scarce, you can generally play |
| Coming Soon: Rampage! Playtest | 2025-02-02 | Greetings! You may have noticed the playtest button that quietly appeared on the store page and be wondering what that’s for. In this update I will tell you all about it, but first, a bit of history: With TOXICANT I set out to make a game that wasn’t just another zombie shooter. Instead, I wanted to focus more on evasion, and much of the design is based around this (tunnels, stealth buffs/debuffs, stamina, etc.). At the time I was heavily inspired by games like Outlast and Alien: Isolation—games where you often need to run or hide instead of fighting your way out. As a result, the original version of TOXICANT contains no guns, only makeshift |
| Build 57 release notes | 2024-05-06 | Hey, just dropping by with some quality of life updates. This update lays the groundwork for a much bigger update I’m planning (and for which development is nearly complete). I won’t spoil it just yet, but suffice to say, it will BLOW YOU AWAY! 💥 New Features Add new explosive barrel type Barrels now explode when struck! (*with a strong enough weapon) Add new module for dead-end hallways Add halos to make mutant miner eyes more obvious Changes Connect spawn room with a hallway instead of a tunnel Remove gated doors in earlier levels (all these did was slow the pace) Lower probability of gated doors (makes for more tense moments) Show actual |
| Build 56 release notes | 2023-05-28 | Bug Fixes/Improvements 🐛 Fix issue with resolution selection Fix missing X icon on splash screen settings panel |
| TOXICANT leaves Early Access today! | 2021-03-05 | Today's the day! After a rollercoaster 4.5 year journey, TOXICANT is finally ready for prime time. Thanks to everyone who came along for the crazy ride: beta testers, early adopters, patrons, contributing devs and artists, the furballs who kept me company, etc. I couldn't have done it without you! 🙏 Although this may seem like the end, it's really just the beginning! As with all of my games, as long as there are players, there will be updates. I have so many more ideas I want to explore, so keep checking back, and keep the feedback coming. Last but not least, I was hoping I could ask you a small favour: if you enjoy the game, please consider |
| Build 54 release notes | 2021-02-28 | Build 54 is now and includes the following: Bug Fixes/Improvements 🐛 Update developer note Fix some artifacts in intro scene, improve lighting/post Make toxic platforming room a bit more forgiving Add a Discovery Log description for drill Fix texture seams in large modules |
| Build 53 release notes | 2021-02-02 | Build 53 is now live and includes the following: Bug Fixes/Improvements 🐛 Various texture fixes and improvements Add photosensitive warning Possible fix for ghoul not facing player quickly enough when attacking Remove feedback form Add social links to pause menu Fix for artifacts in UI when using a quality setting with anti-aliasing |
| End Game Update now available! | 2021-01-16 | Well, this is it! The final major Early Access update! While I wasn't able to do everything I had set out to, I'm still quite happy with how closely I've been able to stick to the roadmap. Let's take a closer look... New Beacon Type: Smoke Beacon The smoke beacon creates a volume of smoke that obstructs the vision of most enemies, making it easier to sneak by. This brings the total number of beacon types up to 6. Along with this, a Beacon Expert achievement has been added (you'll get this for trying out all of them). Two Separate Endings At the end of the final level, you'll now need to decide how you want to end things. This of course includ |
| Build 50 release notes | 2021-01-06 | Happy New Year folks! Kicking things off with a sizeable update, including lots of quality of life stuff. New Features/Content 🙌 Add input rebinding Add two endings to final level Add secret area/journal entry to final level Implement Completionist, Mycologist and BingeDrinker achievements Add confirmation dialogs for retry and exit Display day number at the start of each level Add SFX and music volume settings Bug Fixes/Improvements 🐛 Fix for glitchy mutant miner idle animation Various texture improvements Various optimizations Fix for enemy blood decals not working in final area Implement quick turn for gamepad This represents the bulk of |
| Overachiever Update now available! | 2020-11-29 | Chasm Area A new area has been added that replaces the fourth level: a sprawling industrial complex set in a chasm. This will serve as the basis for the final challenge and multiple endings, coming in next month's End Game Update. New Weapon The player's punch attack has been replaced with a knife swipe attack. Although it does the same amount of damage, it can now be used to break crates as well: Toxic Status Everything that previously did toxic damage now fills a gauge instead of hurting the player. When the gauge is full, you're dead! ☠ And More! Add the first batch of achievements (5 to start with) Adjust mutant miner HP (varied by type) |
| Dev journal #9 | 2020-11-13 | Well, I've been busy working away on a new area: a sprawling industrial complex set in a chasm. I'd say it's coming together nicely: It uses the same procedural generation as the mine levels, but as you can see, it's wide open, and even has an area below. (There's nothing down there yet, but I have some big plans for it... 🤐) You'll need to visit the various platforms throughout the area to reactivate power, at which point you'll need to make an important decision. 🤔 (Note that the area won't be beatable until next month's End Game update, but you'll be able to check it out well before that!) I've also started implementing some achievements |
| Explorer Update now available! | 2020-10-31 | Another month, another major update! The Explorer Update adds the following new features: Two new mushroom types: red and white. These buff strength and stealth respectively. Two new beacon types: distraction and trap mine A new beacon launcher model A new wheel-based UI for selecting beacon types Persistent discovery log items The Explorer Update also includes the following bug fixes and improvements: Buff stats modifiers and upgrades Replace discovery log square icons with scroll list Add support for freezing and exploding fish Improve mushroom, beacon and toxic VFX Improve texture maps in many places Improve beacon/water interaction Possib |
| Watch the dev play | 2020-10-31 | Hey folks, I'll be broadcasting a video of me playing a recent build throughout the weekend. I'll also be dropping by the chat--as well as the Discord--to answer any questions you might have. |
| Build 46 release notes | 2020-10-27 | Hi folks, Here's the bulk of progress towards the Explorer Update, along with several bug fixes and improvements! New Features 🙌 New beacon types: trap, distraction New mushroom types: stealth, attack New beacon launcher model New beacon selection UI Persist discovery log items Bug Fixes/Improvements 🐛 Replace discovery log square icons with scroll list Improve beacon VFX Buff stats modifiers and upgrades Fix for final level not loading Add additional texture maps for mutant miners Improve beacon/water interaction Disallow firing beacons while underwater Improved textures for large rooms Increased intensity of toxic particles and lightin |
| Dev journal #8 | 2020-10-20 | Hey folks, sorry for the silence lately! I had to take a bit of time to get another game over the finish line. With that taken care of, I can now give TOXICANT the attention it deserves! And on that note, that Explorer Update is well underway! This update is all about adding new loot and expanding upon the beacons system. New Loot Initially, this is going to start with two new types of mushrooms. As with the existing mushroom, these offer a temporary buff in exchange for a slight hit to your health, though I may end up applying distinct debuffs for all three. Red mushroom: boosts strength White mushroom: boosts stealth Along with this, I took |
| Creatures Update now available! | 2020-09-30 | Another month, another major update! The Creatures Update is all about adding new creatures! You'll encounter three new enemy types: toxic spider, mutant fish, and tentacle monster. The Creatures Update also includes numerous improvements and bug fixes: New damage type (toxic) with distinct visual feedback (green overlay) Adjustable mouse and gamepad sensitivity settings Improved player punch hit detection Various lighting, visual, AI, and level generation fixes Various audio fixes, including limiting switch alarms to current floor Next up: the Explorer Update, which will add several new types of buff items, beacons, and more! You'll start se |
| Build 42 release notes | 2020-09-20 | Hi folks, Here's the first of the progress towards the Creatures Update, along with several bug fixes and improvements! New Features 🙌 New enemy: toxic spider! New damage type (toxic) with distinct visual feedback (green overlay) Add settings for mouse and gamepad sensitivity Bug Fixes/Improvements 🐛 Improve enemy spawn logic Remove emission for toxic blood decals Always use pixel lights for lanterns Fix some light bleed issues Fix for switch alarm audible from other floors Fix for large room switch missing alarm Fix for wrong reverb settings applied in certain cases |
| Dev journal #7 | 2020-09-06 | Next up in the Creatures update: mutant fish! The model and animations are complete (huge shout out to the talented artist--and gardener--JP for his work on this), I'm just working my way through the AI now: There are some details of this on the devlog if you're curious. Oh yeah, I've got a free key up for grabs by the first person who can name one of the references for this guy. (hint: it's from the 90s... I've said too much) As well, a quick update to the roadmap: I'm going to defer the "super mutant" enemy to a future update in favour of a completely new type of enemy... more to come on that! 🤐 Reminder: if you want to check out the first |
| Dev journal #6 | 2020-08-30 | When Spiders Attack Say hello to your new best friend! 😉 Along with this new enemy type I've also added a new type of damage (toxic) with its own distinct visual feedback (green overlay). This should help to differentiate when you are taking environmental damage from toxic puddles, when a spider is spitting at you from behind, etc. To further help differentiate toxic hazards I've also removed emission for enemy blood decals. Last but not least, I also reworked the enemy spawning logic. Previously, every second room along the solution path spawned a mutant miner 100% of the time (and at higher difficulties: a rat and a second mutant miner). T |
| Lofty Update now available! | 2020-08-19 | I'm excited to announce that TOXICANT just got its first major Early Access update: The Lofty Update! This update adds a new type of layout to the fourth floor of each level. This layout uses larger modules, which means longer hallways (including longer underwater segments), and support for larger hand-crafted areas. Currently, there are four of these (with more to come). The Lofty Update also includes numerous improvements and bug fixes: Settings now available from in-game pause menu Post-processing effect for alcohol Lockers now contain loot, including upgrade pills Various visual and AI improvements Next up: the Creatures Update, which wil |
| Early Access Roadmap | 2020-08-13 | Introducing the TOXICANT Early Access roadmap! I'll be updating this all through Early Access, and I'll also keep the latest version directly on the store page for your convenience. |
| Dev journal #5 | 2020-08-09 | Lofty Goals You'll soon start seeing some initial progress towards the "Lofty Update". (although the official update is launching at the end of the month, I'll be pushing out changes as they're ready) This update will add a new type level layout for the fourth floor of each level. This layout uses larger modules, which means longer hallways (including longer underwater segments), and support for larger hand-crafted areas. Currently, there are four of these (with more to come). Getting Drunk I've added a post-processing effect for alcohol. This makes it slightly disorienting and also lets you know when the effect is active. I plan to add somet |
| Build 37 release notes | 2020-07-25 | Hi folks, Here with a quick patch to address a few small launch issues. Bug Fixes/Improvements Fix for some ceiling props incorrectly positioned Minor SFX level adjustments Fix for visible gap in flooded junction tunnel connector Beefier SFX for crate smash (also applies to tutorial plank barrier) Fix for some rats throwing exception every frame Fix for missing upgrade altar condition (was possible to use altar with no melee weapon and no gems) This is live now in the main branch. Going forward, I'll be uploading new builds to the alpha branch first. You'll find details about that in this thread. P.S. Thanks to everyone who's picked up the ga |
| Dev journal #4 | 2020-07-11 | Alright, here we go, the last dev journal before Early Access! That's right: Friday July 24th, come hell or high water, the game will launch in Early Access. 🙌 Go Big or Go Home This is something you can expect to see in the first major release after Early Access (dubbed the "Lofty" update): support for large modules. This opens up the possibility for bigger hand-crafted areas, which I'll likely feature in the final floor of each level, but it's setup in such a way that large and small rooms can co-exist on the same floor. As you can see above, this also means bigger underwater areas, and hopefully some small puzzles and platforming areas as |
| TOXICANT release party | 2020-07-08 | Mark your calendars: rogue-like survival horror TOXICANT gets an Early Access release date! This is my most ambitious game yet, developed entirely in my spare time over the past 3+ years, and I'm excited to finally share it with the world on Friday July 24th! To celebrate, I'll be playing through the game live on Twitch, answering questions, and talking about how I plan to develop it during Early Access. (You might even see a preview of some new features!) Plus: I'll have a few copies to giveaway! (Stay tuned for more details) |
| Dev journal #3 | 2020-06-12 | Heyo! We're in the home stretch before the Steam Game Festival (ICYMI: it's been postponed until June 16). As such, the last dev cycle has been focused almost entirely on bug fixes and quality of life stuff. Interact dots The interaction points for some objects--in particular, exits--weren't super obvious since they didn't have outlines like other items. To make this a bit easier, I've added "interact dots" (thanks to God of War for the idea, heh). This should make them much easier to interact with, especially in the heat of the moment. Along with this, I've also added proper interaction outlines to the upgrade stations (workbench, dark altar |
| Ask me (almost) anything! | 2020-06-06 | Come hang out on the Cosmocat Discord and ask me (almost) anything. 🙆♂️ Examples of questions you can ask me: What are your plans for the game? What were your inspirations? How many cats do you have? What's your favourite beer? 🙅♂️ Examples of questions you can't ask: Do you have a moment to talk about our lord and savior? What is your stance on ? What's your credit card number? TOXICANT (formerly Undermine) offers a sinister twist on the survival horror genre, featuring randomized levels and roguelike elements. |
| Dev journal #2 | 2020-05-19 | Back again with another dev journal! Beefier Melee One thing that's always felt a bit weak to me was the melee attacks, so I recently took the time to beef them up x100. I checked a number of references--including the classic Condemned: Criminal Origins--and modeled the new melee based on these. I sped the animations way up, added the requisite trail renderer, and also took the opportunity to greatly improve the collision detection and hitboxes. Here's how that's looking: Note that this only applies to plank and pickaxe so far. I do plan to go back and do the fist at some point, although definitely not to the same extent, as it's meant to be |
| Dev journal #1 | 2020-04-16 | Hey folks, I'm going to start trying to post these more regularly now that I'm headed into early access. It will mostly be an amalgam of odds & ends from the #toxicant channel on Discord and the devlog, so I would encourage you to follow those if you want things hot off the press. Tutorial Some of the feedback from the last beta was that the "on-boarding" was a bit challenging; there was a lot to learn, and not enough instruction. While I'm not a big fan of hand-holding in games, I certainly don't want the initial experience to be frustrating or confusing. To that end, I've added a simple tutorial area. It sets the tone (you spawn in a pitch |
| Closed beta | 2020-03-27 | Hey folks, just a quick note to let you know that I'll be running another closed beta shortly. If you're interested in that, you can find the sign-up form here. |