Indie Sales reappears after a bit of a hiatus. Several sales this week; some little, some big and all awesome. Let’s take the tour.

Direct2Drive, often absent from our inconsistent weekly segment, boasts the best offer both in discount and quality of game. Multiplayer Robot Exploder Plain Sight is 50% off, taking the title down to just $5 through the middle of next week. Check out Geoff’s review for more on the game.

Impulse is running a couple of deals as part of their weekend sale. Christian Teister’s Grappling Hook goes for $9 instead of the standard $15–Arsen and I have covered it fairly extensively. Sigma’s top-down action title Alien Shooter is just $3 instead of the typical $5. However…

GamersGate is offering a better Alien Shooter discount in the three-game Alien Shooter Gold Pack which contains Alien Shooter, Alien Shooter: Vengeance and Zombie Shooter. A $15 price tag slashed down to just $3.73! Not to be overlooked at all, The Scourge Project Episodes 1 and 2 is still 75% off. Check out our coverage here.

In the wake of its enormous discountocalypse, Steam isn’t running any standard sales this week. However, they are offering a few launch discounts including dollar discounts for Binary Takeover’s music-powered title Turba and Telltale’s adventure game Puzzle Agent. The new “Class 02 Shunter Pack” DLC for RailWorks is 33% off as well.

Did we miss something? Email us or leave a comment below so we can share.

DnS Development has rolled out a new content update for their side-scrolling multiplayer shooter Booster Trooper, available now for download.

The patch brings new maps “Space Station” and “Temple of Helion” to the game, along with a list of improvements, balance tweaks and fixes. Highlights outside the two maps include improved BOT AI, an improved chat system, a couple weapon adjustments, and a fix for the CTF achievement.

The file is available for automatic download now for owners of the game via Steam. From the change log:

Booster Trooper

• Added: new map – Space Station
• Added: new map – Temple of Helion
• Fixed: CTF achievement
• Improved: BOT AI
• Improved: kill messages separated from info/chat messages and weapon icon is shown
• Improved: chat/info system. Chat messages stay longer, blip sound played, and last messages fade in if new messages is typed in
• Fixed: error on exit/quit command of dedicated server
• Improved: shotgun power slightly decreased
• Improved: assault rifle power slightly increased
• Fixed: loading of the fullscreen and resoultion configuration in some cases
• Fixed: try to enter password protected full game, no longer loops button-click sound
• Fixed: messages of black players are recolored for better reading

Taleworlds has released v1.126 of their action-RPG Mount & Blade: Warband, adding production house gameplay to the title. The new feature gives players the ability to construct buildings that produce valuable goods including iron, wine, velvet and more. Players can get started through the guild masters scattered throughout the towns of the game.

Several other additions, improvements and bug fixes also accompany the update. Highlights include: AI lord improvements, knockdown ability for hammers and clubs, new Swadian houses for their respected major towns and more.

The update is available as an automatic download for owners on Steam and Impulse. A manual patch is also available along with an updated dedicated server file over on The Patches Scrolls.

From the change log:

Version 1.126

Features and Gameplay:

• NEW! Gameplay features have been added, now players have the ability to build production houses that produce valuable goods such as iron, wine, velvet and more. The building of production houses is accessible through guild masters in towns. Also players may visit these newly modeled scenes via the town menu.
• New Swadian houses have been added to major Swadian towns.
• New, AI Behavior enables more realistic AI lord behaviors, such as AI lords collecting taxes.
• Campaign difficulty has been rebalanced, hard mode is now even more challenging with AI lords recruiting troops faster.
• Economy parameters such as taxes from fiefs and raiding outcomes, have been balanced.
• The Khergit faction has been given some much needed love and as a result has had their troops and items rebalanced.
• Khergits get modified hats and steppe armor instead of leather vests in multi-player.
• Man-hunters and high tier slaver troops have been given an overhaul and have top tier troops equal to other top tier army troops.
• Weapons that cannot be used to block can now do feint attacks.
• All items from hammers to warhammers and spiked clubs to iron maces now have knockdown capabilities.

Technical:

• New flags for items are added and new operations are defined to give more freedom to modders.
• Out of memory errors while rendering are now handled more properly.
• Fixed a bug that caused AI lords to have too many high level troops.
• Several bug fixes to the level editor.
• Lots of other bug fixes and some healthy re-balancing/improvements in both single and multi-player modes.

Following in the footsteps of Audiosurf and Beat Hazard, the four-man squad of Binary Takeover has released their music-powered match-3 Turba. Now available for purchase and download on Steam.

In the game, players will select a song of their choice off of their PC library and jump into the gameplay. The pieces on the board generate and move to the beat of the player’s song choice. Clear blocks in time with the beat and make expert combos to maximize score and compete in online leaderboards for any and all songs played.

The title includes support for Music CDs, Mp3 Flac, Ogg, Wma, Ape and Mpc files, and also offers its own soundtrack dubbed “Turba Originals” to show they weren’t just looking to cut the soundtrack corner with this whole (awesome) player-music integration stuff. A demo is available on the game’s Steam page if you fancy a try.

The title runs $10, but goes for a dollar less its first week. A small amount of info digging (we really take Google for granted) led me to the developer’s site. Turba is actually Binary Takeover’s second effort. The first is a puzzle platformer, and IGF 2009 entrant, by the name of Lost Marbles. The game is free to download here (scroll down).

Hassey Enterprises has released a new update for its arcade strategy title Galcon Fusion, now available for download.

The patch addresses fixes and brings improvements for the invite system for the multiplayer portion of the game. Invites now work in-game and outside of it, and when you accept an invite it now takes you to the lobby list highlighting the game you received invitation to. A Mac invite fix is included as well.

The file is available now as an automatic download for owners of the game on Steam. From the change log:

Galcon Fusion

• Invites now bring you directly to the lobby list highlighting the game you are invited to.
• Invites now work in-game and outside of the game.
• [OSX] Fixed invites so game launches correctly upon being invited.

A new update is available for Positech’s space strategy title Gratuitous Space Battles, bringing the game up to v1.42.

Truth be told the patch isn’t too large, packing only a pair of notes in a fix and an improvement for GSB. The game now ‘silently ignores’ invalid designs instead of crashing when opening the design loader as well as repairing a rare issue where a ship’s power is displayed as invalid but the design can be saved and loaded anyway.

The patch is currently available for automatic download for owners of the game on Steam.

From the change log:

Version 1.42

• Fixed problem where in rare cases a ship’s power may be displayed as invalid, but the design can still be saved and loaded.
• Game will now silently ignore invalid designs like it used to do, rather than crashing when opening the design loader.

Team Garry has released a new update for their physics-based sandbox tinker-around title Garry’s Mod, now available for download for owners of the game on Steam.

The patch brings a handful of fixes, improvements and additions including the repair of some broken achievements. The game was just recently upgraded to Source 2010, so it won’t be a big surprise if we see the game continuing to get consistently patched over the next few months here.

Other highlights include fixes for flying ragdolls, an offset vehicle view, hulls not changing and an increase in max particles. I’m not entirely sure what that last one’s about but it just sounded to cool

From the change log:

Garry’s Mod

• Fixed flying ragdolls
• Fixed vehicle view offset
• Fixed hulls not changing
• Fixed broken achievements
• Increased max particles
• Restored OpeningURL HTML panel callback
• Added HTML:RunJavascript()
• Added HTML:GetHTMLMaterial()

Some may believe that the “beat em up” genre is on the way out, what with other genres becoming more and more popular in recent years. But that’s not to say it’s going to go away forever. Believe it or not, there is still a healthy community of indie developers who thrive on making bad ass beat em up games, like today’s newly announced PC/Mac game: Ass Kickers.

Developed by AGÔ Games, Ass Kickers is designed to hearken bak to the heyday’s of the genre back in the early 90s when beat em up arcades were all the rage.

The game, itself, is about three heroes who love martial arts, and love “kicking asses” in a world thats run by greed and special interests (political!)… and that’s all we got.

The developer is being coy about releasing too many details about the game stating that, since they’re an indie developer, they need to reserve as much information as possible in order tor else it slowly to get the most attention. While, as a games journalist, I’d love nothing more than to be able to spill all the details right now, I can certainly see their point. These guys have a smart head on their shoulders, markting-wise. Let’s hope it translates well into the game.

At least it looks like the artwork will be unique. That’s something, right?

Ass Kickers is planned for an early 2011 release on PC/Mac. No price has been announced.

Screenshots

Yes, all those delicious Fourth of July sales are dwindling down even as I write this (seriously, Steam’s is over in just over an hour), but that doesn’t mean there aren’t other great deals to be had, like today’s incredible deal to buy S.H.M.U.P, the IGF finalist, for only $1.49. This is a great deal for any fan of the — ahem — shmup genre.

If you want to read more about the game before deciding on a purchase, check out our own review of it from waaaay back in December. For all others, simply follow the link below to buy it.

[Buy]

Trailer

Shortly after its release on Steam several days ago, Tragnarion Studios’ v.1.2 update for The Scourge Project: Episodes 1 and 2 will be available on GamersGate starting July 5th. In addition, just as the Steam event had taken place, The Scourge Project will be offered at 75% off its regular price (just $4.99, 4,99€, and 4,99 GBP) on GamersGate for 10 days. The acclaimed third-person shooter can be updated as players log in to GamersGate.

The full list of fixes in the patch are as follows:

- Echo AI General improvements.
- Echo AI navigation improvements.
- Teleport problem with someone incapacitated experienced by some client.
- Crash when spamming the “E” key to enter and exit a stationary weapon.
- No auto team selection in multiplayer when coming from a Deathmatch server and entering a server with team based matches.
- Skipping system for Action Mode.
- Substitution of the metadata info from some servers in the server browser.
- Other minor fixes and improvements.
- Some character deformations experienced by some client in checkpoints 1 and 4 from level 3.
- Sound issues with the dropship experienced by some client.

[Buy from GamersGate. Remember that the sale and patch are available starting July 5th.]

Press Release:

Friday 2nd of July, 2010 Mallorca, Spain: The Scourge Project: Episodes 1 and 2 announces for Monday 05th of July 2010 the availability of their new patch v.1.2, a new interview and a special 10 days Summer Sales deal 4,99USD/4,99€/4,99GBP.

The patch will be publicly made available through Gamersgate*.

*Please connect to Gamersgate to receive a version of this patch intended to work with your version.

The update will feature the following list of fixes and improvements: Echo AI General improvements. Echo AI navigation improvements. Teleport problem with someone incapacitated experienced by some client. Crash when spamming the “E” key to enter and exit a stationary weapon. No auto team selection in multiplayer when coming from a Deathmatch server and entering a server with team based matches. Skipping system for Action Mode. Substitution of the metadata info from some servers in the server browser. Other minor fixes and improvements. Some character deformations experienced by some client in checkpoints 1 and 4 from level 3. Sound issues with the dropship experienced by some client.

Tragnarion Studios is also updating its website with a new development video series. For more information, please check it out here: http://www.thescourgeproject.com/videos/?vid=3.

In this second video Omar Salleh – Game Director –, Miguel Angel Carrillo – Lead Artist – and Samuel Garcia – Animator – talk about the development of Scourge’s main characters and background. More videos with interviews are going to be added very soon, so stay tuned!

You can also follow us on;
Twitter:
http://twitter.com/scourgeproject
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/thescourgeproject.

About Tragnarion Studios:
Tragnarion Studios is one of the biggest game development companies based in Spain focused on bringing highly original and creative titles to home consoles, mobile, and digital download arenas. The company since the beginning has been renowned for its industry-leading creativity and its drive and ability to execute original ideas.

For more information, assets and review samples, please contact Jean-Philip Rodriguez via email jeanphilip.rodriguez@tragnarion.com.
About GamersGate: GamersGate is a leading digital distribution platform, providing ready gaming experiences for gamers worldwide – anytime, anywhere. Viewed as a strong contender in the digital download arena, GamersGate continues to redefine the download industry. Future strategies include the launch of several additional services, and the further aggressive expansion of its product portfolio, from a wide range of internationally recognized publishers. For more information, please visit www.gamersgate.com.

[Source: GamesPress]