The Hairy and Scary Update

Greetings Park Attendees! Welcome to Grounded 2’s first Public Test Build for the Hairy and Scary Update! We look forward to you checking out all the new content and hearing your feedback.

New Features

Boss Fight against AXL

• Offering recipe can be found in the world to summon the boss
• New mutation
• 2 new trinkets
• AXL furniture : Candle, throne & chest
• AXL stuffed and wall mount
• AXL weapons : Spear & Great bow & arrows
• AXL Armor set

BUILD.M

• Replaces the Construction radial

Holiday update for Halloween - Only Available in October

• Trick-or-Treatery Building can be bought in the Ranger Station
• New spooky ambiances
• Candy Corn replaces some resources in the world

New Content

New Buildings

• Wolf Spider Rug
• Grass Quarter Triangle floor
• Stem Quarter Triangle floor
• Pine expansion: Pine Wall B, Pine Half Wall B, Pine Half Vertical Wall B, Pine Table, Pine Stool, Pine Lounger, Pine Skull Mount
• Scorpion Bed, Scorpion Lamp

New Weapon & Armor

• Praying Mantis Armor set

Community Requested & QOL Features

Community Requested

• Set bonus information is now available via the "Explore" popup
• Hotpouch is now available while riding a buggy
• Hotpouch now permanent in the inventory screen
• Orb Weaver now won’t receive fall damage

QOL

• Improvement on Orb Weaver navigation
• Improvement on the Repair button for Buggies:
• SCA.B now emits small light at night
• Feedback for throw starts as soon as input is pressed
• Improvement on feedback for the lean-to interaction

Other Changes / Tuning

Audio

• Improved translations
• Added a VO line that was missing
• Fixed volume of certain effects not affected by correct volume slider
• Resolved several missing/incorrect sound effects

Combat Balancing

• Preliminary Patch Notes for Fall Update. This is a pass on combat stats as we prepare for tier 3 content.
• This also reigns in some overpowered gear and mutations for the Axl boss fight.

Global Combat Tweaks

• Baseline critical hit damage multiplier has been reduced.
• Baseline stun damage multiplier has been reduced.
• Baseline parry stun reduced. (Light shields stun more)
• Rogue armor critical hit chance is slightly reduced.

Weapon Tweaks

• Dual Wield finale damage multiplier slightly reduced.
• The critical hit chance for following weapons have been adjusted.
  • Weaver Daggers
  • Wolfsbane Daggers
  • Ice Sickles
  • Mosquito Needle
  • Mitey Claws
  • Northern Shredders.
• Fist Weapon attacks deal less stun. (Adjusted mutation as well see further down.)
• Bow damage has been reduced.

Trinkets

• Stabby Stinger deals bonus stabbing damage with finishers.
• Blistering Boiler spicy damage and sizzle has been reduced.
• Myrmecologist Badge attack damage downside reduced.

Armor Adjustments

Northern Armor

• Crippling strike set bonus immobilizes the target for a short duration instead of stuns.
• Ambush attacks only work on angry creatures like the mutation.

Grub Armor

• Quickcharge bonus is no longer removed when switching weapons.

Mutation Adjustments

Ambush

• Dagger Critical hit damage multiplier has been reduced.
• Ambush only works on angry creatures.
• Ambush unlock progression only counts against angry creatures.

Assassin

• Dash Stike Critical hit chance has been reduced.
• Critical hit damage with daggers and sickles has been reduced.

Smasher

• The damage multiplier while creatures are stunned has been increased.

Sharpshooter

• Critical hit chance with charged shots has been reduced.

Lil Fist

• Mastery stun reduced slightly.

Reliable Friend

• Revive time has been adjusted.

Acorn Turret

• Turret damage against O.R.C. creatures has been reduced.

Creatures

• Bombardier Beetle resists stabbing instead of smashing damage. Weakness to fresh has been reduced.
• Wolf Spider resists to stabbing has increased. Health increased.
• Praying Mantis Health increased.

UI

• Adjusting existing translations to better fit UI

Optimization

This is our first major step towards Major Performance Improvements. We understand there's still more work to do and behind the scenes we have already started.

• General Performance Improvements across the board
• Added various Graphic Options and have changed the values of Low, Medium, High and Epic for 0.2
  • View Distance
  • Anti-Aliasing
  • Post Processing Quality
  • Shadow Quality
  • Global Illumination Quality (Lumen) - Can now be set to “On” or “Off”
    • If the setting is turned on you should now be able to pick from Low, Medium, High and Epic
  • Reflection Quality
  • Texture Quality
  • Effects Quality
  • Foliage Quality
  • Shading Quality

Bug Fixes:

Stability:

• Were estimating around a 15% Stability Gain from 0.1.3.
  • We will continue to check Stability throughout early access as we continue to make strides towards getting our crash rate as low as possible

Major Bug Fixes:

• Buggies are no longer affected by “Fix Bug Locations” from the game repair menu.
• Fixed various crashes
  • Fixed a crash when loading a world with customized armor stand built.
  • Fixed some memory leaks that would then lead to a Out Of Memory Crash
  • 50% of the GPU Hangs experienced in 0.1.3 should be fixed in 0.2
• Having full inventory and a two-handed weapon on a Buggy will no longer result in losing the weapon.
• Resolved an issue where backpacks could fall underground after a player’s death.
• Fixed a bug where Players could get stuck in the Onboarding Facility by using the PTS.
• Fixed Various more duplication methods
• Resources will no longer respawn on High Foundations
• Fixed a bug where Clients could not Repair
• Fixed various Out of the World Gaps in the Terrain
  • Any fix that changes the “Map” in any way, has a chance to move geometry (Your Base) and as an after result. We plan on doing these fixes always as “Batches” in the future to help display if your base is affected.
• Fixed a bug where clients were losing all their equipment when a save was transferred via Import Save option.
• Fixed the “Photo Mode” Speed exploit

Additional Bug Fixes:

Performance and Stability

• Resolved an issue where alternating between Player’s and Buggy’s backpack in Resource Analyzer could result in game crash.
• Fixed an issue where Grounded 2 did not launch properly on Steam Deck.
• Tweaked flickering on distant environment on Xbox Series S.
• Corrected an issue where Frame rate drops significantly when players are joining the game with teens in different locations.
• Resolved an issue where freezes occurred when joining a multiplayer session.
• Corrected an issue where FPS dropped below 20 when browsing Radial Menu.

UI/UX

• Addressed an issue with Omni-Tool showing “Throw” prompt.
• Fixed a bug with Quick Chat radial menu showing wrong button prompt.
• Resolved an issue with visible boxes inside the Radial Menus.
• Resolved keyboard mapping so Handy Gnat and invert blueprint won’t share the same input.
• Corrected a visual issue with the overlapping Whistle widget UI.
• Fixed a bug where Player was able to see through map by using “Menu” in the lobby.
• Fixed a bug where key mapping for the "Huck" wasn’t working as intended.
• Resolved an issue where in building layout texts were appearing outside of the boxes.
• Fixed a bug where Handy Gnat camera controls would be inverted when playing on controller.
• Addressed an issue with arrows HUD being displayed after switching a weapon.
• Fixed an issue with a “Text Block” showing up.
• Resolved an issue where incorrect popup for survival text in death screen was present.
• Resolved an issue where quick exiting Single Player New Game Menu switched Teens in the next loaded save.
• Resolved an issue where dual-wield weapons would be separated from Character’s hands in inventory.
• Fixed an issue where notification for Save Slots Used is overlapping with UI.
• Addressed an issue with resource names extending beyond text boxes.
• Fixed an issue where Science Shop text overflowed in German.
• Fixed many UI issues on specific aspect ratios.
• Resolved an issue with a Lean-To icon missing from the pop-up.
• Fixed an issue where a hollow rectangle was visible in crafting menu.
• Resolved an issue where item icons jittered in the recipes UI.
• Resolved an issue with opening UI on mount showing inaccurate item descriptions.
• Resolved an issue where new keyboard mapping reverted after rebooting.
• Addressed the typo in the description of the Northern Scorpion Jr. creature card.
• Corrected an issue where the O.R.C. Wave prompt appeared in low resolution.
• Resolved an issue where damage type icons in the Stat Details menu were squeezed.
• Updated Snail Shell Plastron’s description.
• Resolved an issue where the aim reticle appeared low-resolution after increasing its size.

Buggy

• Resolved an issue where Red Soldier Ants were aggressive towards Players mounted on Red Soldier Ant Buggy.
• Resolved an issue where mounting a buggy in first-person view resulted in a reduced pickup range for the player.
• Resolved an issue where buggy could become permanently unavailable.
• Resolved an issue where thrown bandage behaved identically as Healbasa when mounting a Buggy.
• Resolved an issue where Dismounting a Buggy and “Snap To Grid” function were bound to the same key by default.
• Resolved an issue where forced dismount dealt damage after falling on a Buggy.
• Addressed an issue with items disappearing when moving items to Buggy inventory.
• Fixed a bug where POIs were not updated in Data tab after Player discovers POI on Buggy.
• Fixed a bug where buggy becomes unresponsive for Players after leaving Multiplayer Session.
• Resolved an issue where Orb Weaver Buggy could collide with clovers.
• Fixed an issue where neutral creatures were losing aggro when player mounts a buggy.
• Resolved an issue where a Client could duplicate any haulable item like Grass Planks, Buggy Eggs, by leaving the multiplayer session and rejoining.
• Resolved an issue where standing below a web bridge was creating a web texture around the Player on Orb Weaver buggy.
• Fixed a bug where Players were able to avoid fall damage by dismounting the Buggy right before the impact.
• Resolved an issue where the Player was forcibly dismounted from their buggy, while blocking and having 1 stamina bar left.
• Addressed that caused lack of animations, visual, and audio effects for clients, while being on a buggy and in gathering mode.
• Fixed an issue where “Your Buggy will return once it is safe” message wouldn’t appear when respawning in a restricted area.
• Resolved an issue where a buggy could hatch as hostile.
• Corrected an issue where soil near a pipe leading to the Statue had no collision for the Red Soldier Ant Buggy.
• Fixed a bug with white frames around Buggy stamina bars.

Audio

• Resolved an issue where the anthill sounds could be heard on the surface.
• Fixed a bug where sound effects of Bows were unaffected by audio volume settings.
• Resolved an issue with no Biometric scanner SFX near the Mysterious Stranger fight.
• Addressed an issue with Broken Gear SFX.
• Resolved an issue with Omni-Tool Upgrade SFX not being affected by Volume sliders.
• Resolved an issue where Outdoor Living quest Voice Line was interrupting Sloane’s call.
• Resolved an issue with a specific line playing even with Audio set to 0.
• Resolved an issue where the sound of hitting and breaking Acorn was disproportionately quiet.
• Resolved an issue where the Briefcase’s sound effect could be heard globally.
• Resolved an issue where specific bucket lacked SFX on being shot.
• Resolved an issue with Music in Anthills stopping when title ran in the background.
• Corrected an issue where MIX.R repair SFX played after repairing the Ice Sickles.
• Corrected an issue where SCA.B device SFX could be heard with Audio set to 0.
• Corrected an issue where Unburrowing Scorpling was audible with Effects Volume set to 0%.
• Corrected an issue where Arrow impact SFX were bound to UI volume.

Localization

• Resolved the improperly localized “KEEP THE CHANGE, YA FILTHY ARACHNID!” quest’s name.
• Resolved an issue where Greatbow and Great Arrows were not localized in other languages.
• Corrected an issue where names of craftables scaled incorrectly in some languages.
• Corrected an issue where some buildings were not translated into languages other than English.
• Resolved an issue where some UI prompts weren’t fully translated.

Quests/Progression

• Resolved an issue where MIX.R could not be activated after Client did all the antennas and stashes.
• Tweaked an exploit where Player could grind mutations on disengaging O.R.C. Creatures.
• Fixed an issue where Players were not able to get back up the tutorial PTS machine.
• Resolved an issue where “Wait, There’s More” questline would not trigger correctly.
• Fixed a bug where O.R.C. Transmitter entry in Survival Guide was blank.
• Fixed a bug where progression bar for Ambush mutation was not working properly.
• Resolved an issue where Headless BURG.L POI had low quality textures.
• Resolved an issue with a specific O.R.C. Weaver Jr. unlocking the regular Orb Weaver Jr. card.
• Fixed a bug where the first tutorial for Milk Molars could appear before leaving the Onboarding Facility.
• Corrected an issue where the Respawn tutorial was hidden behind the respawn timer screen for Host and Client.

Gameplay

• Fixed an issue that caused the resource finder to show items incorrectly
• Resolved an issue where Frenzy mutation did not trigger while using Ice Sickles.
• Resolved an issue with visible Out Of the World hole in Ceremony region.
• Resolved an issue with visible Out Of the World hole in Entrance region.
• Resolved an issue with visible Out Of the World hole in Ceremony region.
• Resolved an issue with OOW gap in the Picnic Table area.
• Corrected an issue with visible gaps in the geometry.
• Resolved an issue with visible Out Of the World hole.
• Resolved an issue where the O.R.C. Creatures were not despawning after failing the MIX.R event.
• Resolved an issue where Player clipped through teleport.
• Fixed a bug where turrets dealt significantly more damage to O.R.C. Creatures.
• Fixed a bug where Clients were not able to Repair in Multiplayer sessions.
• Fixed a bug where Player could be permanently stuck inside the PTS after using Photo Mode.
• Fixed an issue with O.R.C. creatures continuing to spawn after failing the MIX.R.
• Resolved an issue where Milkweed Pods were spawning too rarely.
• Resolved an issue where O.R.C. Mosquito was not present on the branch leading to the Statue.
• Resolved an issue where Red Ants could gather around a single spot in Toxic Anthill.
• Fixed a bug with Player clipping through a floor.
• Corrected an issue where selecting the Healbasa would show Combat Stats.
• Resolved an issue where getting damaged would not cancel action with progress bar.
• Resolved an issue where the players could fall into a pit and get stuck under the Statue hedge.
• Resolved an issue where foliage was growing through buildings.
• Fixed a bug that made some enemies spawn buried in the ground.
• Resolved an issue where there was a gap in terrain near the border of the Grass Games and the Snackbar Front.
• Resolved an issue where O.R.C. ****roach Nymph couldn’t freely move in specific Statue room.
• Fixed a bug with flying creatures animation being broken.
• Resolved an issue where Client could fall OOW while standing in a cave.
• Balanced difficulty of Statue’s route.
• Resolved an issue where Omni-Tool was invisible during pickup animation on Xbox Series X.
• Resolved an issue where Bombardier Beetle would spawn inside geometry.
• Fixed a bug causing navigation issues around the Old Root barrier blocking the entrance to the Frisbee Hedge.
• Corrected an issue where the Red Ants could spawn inside the ground nearby the entry to the "Hatchery Anthill: South Entrance".
• Resolved an issue where Ladybugs could be noticed roaming inside the Ant Hill.
• Fixed a bug where Mantis could lose aggro on the Player mid-combat.
• Resolved an issue where Praying Mantis Nymph was not attacking the Player when it was pinned to the wall.
• Fixed a bug where recycling building while mounted would not refund all materials.
• Fixed the OOW gap near Yoked Girth Magazine Ad.
• Fixed a bug where Player could get stuck in a hole behind Soda Can.
• Fixed a bug where certain armors were not synced with the Character in Photo Mode.
• Resolved an issue where snails didn’t collide with Player buildings.
• Fixed a bug where Player could fall OOW near the entrance to the Pine Hill Outpost.
• Fixed an issue with parts of skateboard lacking collision.
• Fixed an issue where creatures killed by sizzle status effect did not yield roasted meat.
• Fixed issue with visible gaps in the geometry.
• Resolved an issue where camera clipped with Player’s head while opening storage buildings.
• Fixed a bug with falling inside KLBB11 Camera’s Lens.
• Addressed an issue with O.R.C. Larva eye colour.
• Corrected an issue with visible gaps in the geometry.
• Fixed a visual bug with gaps in terrain’s textures.
• Corrected an issue where the OOW was visible near the Ominent onboarding facility exit.
• Corrected an issue where ****roaches were trying to interact with Buried Candy.
• Corrected an issue where Crow Feather would get stuck in the air.
• Fixed an issue where specific Orb Weaver Jr. bodies were exploding in all directions.
• Tweaked O.R.C. Mantis’ eyes coloring.
• Adjusted O.R.C. Orb Weaver and O.R.C. Orb Weaver Jr’s eyes coloring.
• Fixed O.R.C. Weevils’ eyes coloring.
• Fixed a bug where plants were clipping with stones.
• Adjusted with specific Dead Roots not properly attached to the environment.
• Corrected a hole in terrain of the Toxic Anthill.
• Resolved an issue where the mushroom obstacle could be bypassed without a proper Omni-Tool upgrade.
• Fixed an issue with visible OOW gap next to the entrance of the Ranger Outpost.
• Resolved an issue where characters could clip in Milkweed Pods.
• Corrected an issue where Crabgrass was slightly floating above ground.
• Resolved an issue with moss not being attached to the root.
• Fixed a bug that caused the chopping animation to function incorrectly.
• Corrected an issue with visible gaps in the geometry.
• Resolved an issue where big plants were visibly floating near the Statue Maze.
• Addressed a bug where Player lost momentum when jump-attacking with Dual Wield weapons.
• Fixed a bug where ****roach could spawn inside roots.
• Corrected an issue where contrast between terrain and water in Toxic Anthill was too high.
• Fixed a bug that made it impossible to build on certain objects.
• Fixed a bug that enabled building anywhere by zooming.
• Resolved an issue where Aphid Honeydew was not found by Resource Finder.
• Fixed the issue where Player could get stuck between trash bags.
• Corrected an issue where heavy post process was visible on specific resource.
• Corrected an issue where Handy Gnat movement swapped with the Player’s.
• Resolved an issue where Player was unable to place floor on top of Foundations.
• Corrected an issue where the Player could spawn a mount inside the Ice Cream Cart area.
• Addressed an issue with shaking camera in Photo Mode.
• Resolved an issue where Ants could lose their track while carrying loot.
• Fixed an issue with one-sided texture near the border of Grass Game.
• Fixed a bug where Omni-Tool animation did not appear right after an attack.
• Resolved an issue where Player could equip Omni-Tool while frozen.
• Resolved an issue with levitating character in Photo Mode while crouched.
• Fixed a bug where Teens were clipping through the ground in a specific spot in the Pine Hill area.
• Resolved an issue where a certain pinecone was clipping with a stone.
• Resolved an issue where there was a small gap in the Statue Lab wall.
• Fixed a bug that could make a Player stuck next to the news camera.
• Corrected an issue where Teen hands clipped with the camera in first-person (FPP) while drinking nasty water from a puddle with FOV 120 and aiming downward.
• Fixed in the Snackbar Front wooden deck where the Player could get stuck.
• Resolved an issue where an OOW gap was present near the Ceremony Pamphlet.
• Resolved an issue where a small OOW gap was present in the Onboarding Facility.
• Resolved an issue with an OOW gap inside the Cable Tunnels in the Network Center.
• Resolved an issue where OOW gaps were visible in the Hatchery Anthill.
• Corrected a visual issue with gaps in terrain textures.
• Resolved an issue where a leaf clipped into a mushroom in the Snackbar region.
• Resolved an issue with visible OOW gaps in the Mite Cave.
• Fixed a bug where a one-sided dirt texture was present on the door leading to Ranger Outpost: Statue.
• Fixed an issue with multiple one-sided textures in the Statue.
• Fixed an issue where SAP was floating above assets.
• Fixed issues with multiple misaligned collisions on the Shlapz Amplifier.
• Resolved an issue where a few branches were floating in the air.
• Resolved an issue where Milkweed Pods required being attacked before chopping.
• Resolved an issue where a leaf was floating next to the maze.
• Corrected an issue where branches were floating.
• Resolved an issue where Players could see an OOW gap through doors.
• Addressed misplaced Acorns in the Entrance area.
• Resolved an issue where pure grass objects were placed in the Grass Games area.
• Fixed an issue with the camera clipping through a tree trunk.
• Resolved an issue where the Character slid unnaturally when dodging during emote animations.
• Resolved an issue where bow aim focused on the wrong spot on a Snail hidden in its shell.
• Fixed a bug where scorpions clipped with the ground.

Other Fixes:

• Resolved an issue where pallets could not be placed on a single floor piece.
• Resolved an issue where Player could duplicate items by using chest.
• Resolved an issue where light emitted by SCA.B2K was excessively bright.
• Fixed a bug where armor lost its buff upon switching weapons.
• Resolved an issue where the player could jump out of the playable area.
• Resolved an issue where the Host was able to see notifications instead of Client.
• Changed light visibility in Mite Cave.
• Resolved an issue where some ground textures would not load from a distance.
• Corrected an issue where the Water Containers are visually empty after performing Save and Load cycle.
• Fixed a bug where Steam invites would not show up.
• Fixed a bug where EverChar Flares were replaced with regular Flares.
• Resolved an issue where a specific Brittle Marble could not be looted.
• Fixed an issue with visible one-sided texture in the “Snackbar Front” region.
• Resolved an issue where Players were able to see through rocks.
• Resolved an issue where textures in the terrarium were misplaced.
• Resolved an issue with one-sided dirt texture near Empty Terrarium.
• Resolved an issue where parts of Teens’ backpacks weren’t affected by VFX.
• Corrected an issue where Lingonberry Fast Descend Setup had an obstacle that could kill the Player.
• Resolved an issue where a stripe was visible while using a comms array.
• Addressed a bug where incorrect VFX would appear while holding the Glacial Sting in first person.
• Balanced difficulty of obtaining the Stolen Optical Disc.
• Fixed a bug where Ladyguard texture in item preview wasn’t correct.
• Resolved an issue where game user settings were not saving on disk.
• Fixed an issue with objectives and story dialogs reappearing in Creative Mode.
• Fixed a bug that caused a wolf spider to become unresponsive.
• Resolved an issue with inconsistency between G1 and G2 blueprint canceling.
• Fixed an issue where eating Bait VFX stayed after killing the creature.
• Resolved an issue with blueprints not aligning in Entrance region.
• Fixed an issue with visible unnatural shadow inside the Ranger Station.
• Corrected an issue where Save option wasn’t greyed out for the Host during Comms Array dialogues.
• Fixed an issue with Donuts appearing with proximity.
• Corrected an issue where Ladder was present in an incorrect subcategory.
• Fixed misaligned dirt under the picnic table.
• Fixed a bug where the Stuffed Wolf Spider used an old model.
• Corrected an issue where assigned keys exceeded their box.

Hotfix Patch 0.2.0 6975

AXL Boss Fight:

• AXL Should no longer De-Spawn
• Healing Visual/Sound effects will now play for clients during the AXL fight
• Reduced Flickering spotlights in the AXL Arena
• Fixed a bug where AXL can lose aggro on revived targets

General Fixes:

• “Block” and Attack” mappings should now work with custom inputs
• Various Localizations issues are now fixed
• Fixed a Crash when attempting to haul an item in Handy Gnat Mode
• Foliage Quality Setting should no longer be stuck at “Low” after a Save/Load
• Players should no longer spawn inside in their bed
• Adjusted sitting collisions with AXL’s throne

Hotfix Patch 0.2.0 1055

Balance Changes:

• Pinch Whacker AOE stun was lowered from (15 → 5)
• Pinch Whacker AOE Damage was slightly reduced
• Black Fang Greatbow deals 15% increased damage with charged shots
• Pheromone Shot Mutation damage buff increased from 25% → 35%
• For Tier 1 and Tier 2 Arrows - Base Damage of both was increased by +5.
  • This is doubled for charge attacks

AXL Boss Fight:

• AXL Balance Adjustments:
  • AXL Dismount Damage was moved from 80 → 150
  • Stun Cooldown Increased from 20 seconds → 40 Seconds
  • AXL attacks are now faster, with different faster speeds between Phase 2 and Phase 3
• Buggies should now no longer lose aggro on AXL
• When Rubbing for Luck with the Stuffed AXL, players will no longer collect two different types of venom
• Various Invisible Walls where AXL couldn’t hit the player are now fixed
• AXL’s Arena should no longer get pitch black at night
• Fixed a bug where AXL could not hit the Player with a Leg Stomp attack.
• Fixed a bug where Axl could not attack the player that rushed into closed combat as soon as the tarantula unburrowed.
• AXL is no longer unburrowing before second wave of creatures is dead

General Bug Fixes:

• Resources should now regrow across the Park as intended for Extremely Large bases
• Improvements were made to labs with Lumen Off
• Shadow Flickering should now be synchronized across all clients
• Various Localization fixes
• Fixed the ability to customize lighting on buildings objects that produce light
• General Collision improvements with Small Floor Triangles