Two Midweek Madness sales are going on right now through Steam, with both focused on indie games. Each bundle contains five games for the price of one, and their sale has less than 48 hours remaining.

One of the bundles is aptly titled the Indie 2D Bundle and have some of the best 2D games all rolled into one from Gaijin Games, Nicalis, Over the Top Games, Ronimo Games, and 2D BOY. This bundle is $9.95, which makes each game less than $2!

The 2D titles are the following:

• Swords & Soldiers HD (RTS)
• World of Goo (puzzle)
• BIT.TRIP.RUNNER (action platform)
• Nightsky (action-puzzle)
• Nyxquest: Kindred Spirits (platform)

The Indie Strategy Bundle also works out to being less than $2 a game, with hits from 11 Bit Studios, Hidden Path Entertainment, Puppygames, Cadenza Interactive and Coffee Stain.

The five strategy titles are the following:

• Anomaly: Warzone Earth
• Defense Grid: The Awakening
• Revenge of the Titans
• Sanctum
• Sol Survivor

$20 for ten games!? I hate to sound like an old fart, but that was unheard of in the olden-timey cartridge/retail only generation. Thank Asura for indie bundles!

Source: IndieGames

Cadenza Interactive has released a new update for its turret defense title Sol Survivor, bringing the game to version 1.8 and adding the new build-your-own Custom Officer feature among other items.

Players can now create and use their own specialized units in both singleplayer and multiplayer matches, with the addition getting its own category on the game’s global leaderboards as well.

From the patch notes:

Added build-your-own Custom Officer in both singleplayer and multiplayer!

Added global leaderboards for Custom Officers

Increased the railgun fire rate by 15%.

Fixed a crash from canceling a level load twice rapidly.

The file can be had by owners of the game on Steam and Impulse, restart the respective client and it should trigger automatically. Those with a Steam account have access to a playable demo as well.

Cadenza Interactive has several new announcements that we need to pass along. First off, their turret defense title Sol Survivor has been updated to v1.81, adding just a small list of bug fixes to the game (or does it?) Owners of the game can pick it up now on Steam.

From the Steam patch notes:

Sol Survivor 1.8.1

• Fixed custom officer crash on first ever run.
• Fixed small default windowed mode size.
• Fixed some old hardware crashing instead of reporting failure to meet specs.
• Fixed crash when a player joins a game just as it starts.
• Corrected description of Kitchen Sink achievement.

For those who don’t own the game, you may be interested to know that it’s free for anyone with a Steam account to play through the weekend. During which, the game (as well as its already discounted four-pack) can be purchased for 50% off the standard price. The free period ends Sunday, October 10 at 1 PM Pacific.

Finally, Blue’s News has word that the update brings more than what’s shared by the Steam news feed, as well as alerting us to the development of the team’s next (currently unannounced) title. I can’t for the life of me find this quote from Cadenza anywhere else, but Blue has always been a reliable source in the past so we’ll take his word for it:

Included with the weekend sale and free play is a new patch including customizable turret loadouts for single and multiplayer games. This is the latest in a long line of community-inspired additions to the game which, along with new map content, is a free addition to the game as a “thanks” for the passionate support of our community. Come share in our creation process as we continue to grow Sol Survivor and our next title now in development!

The previously Impulse-only update for Cadenza Interactive’s tower/turret defense game Sol Survivor, is now also available for download on Steam.

Patch 1.7 brings a handful of tweaks, additions and fixes to the title. Highlights include a rather important fix to survival co-op, more resource modes added to Versus, and a sudden death feature added to Wars games that carry on for a bit too long.

Try the demo via the Steam page if you haven’t checked the game out yet, from the patch notes:

Sol Survivor 1.7 fixes:

• Fixed Survival Co-op resource modes having no effect.
• Fixed clients being unable to return the the menu while a game is in progress.
• Fixed a rare crash when starting games.
• Fixed a crash when using the Bypass Campaign option.
• Increased the lobby connection timeout.
• Added resource modes to Versus.
• Added sudden death to Wars games that reach maximum escalation.

Cadenza Interactive has released a new update for its tower defense title Sol Survivor, now available through Impulse.

The v1.7 patch adds resource modes to Versus as well as implementing a sudden death system to Wars games that reach “maximum escalation”–A funny phrase if my immaturity says so itself. Several bug fixes come packed with the update as well.

The title runs $10 and can be had now on Steam and Impulse. From the patch notes:

Fixed Survival Co-op resource modes having no effect.

Fixed clients being unable to return the the menu while a game is in progress.

Fixed a rare crash when starting games.

Fixed a crash when using the Bypass Campaign option.

Increased the lobby connection timeout.

Added resource modes to Versus.

Added sudden death to Wars games that reach maximum escalation.

A new, content-packed update has arrived for Cadenza Interactive’s turret defense title Sol Survivor, now available for automatic download for owners of the game via Steam and Impulse.

The patch brings Survival co-op to the game, along with two maps designed specifically for the new multiplayer mode. The maps–Medusa and Candlelight–are designs submitted by Shentrax, a community member of the game.

The update also brings a couple additions and a few bug fixes to the game. From the change log:

Sol Suvivor:

• Added Survival Co-op multiplayer mode.
• Added two Survival Co-op maps: Medusa and Candlelight, from designs submitted by community member Shentrax.
• Added gamepad navigation of menus.
• Added screenshot key to bindable controls.
• Fixed crash from corrupted configuration save data.
• Fixed crash from corrupted Cloud save data.
• Fixed clients failing to time out when joining a lobby that closed.

Cadenza Interactive has released a new update for its turret defense strategy title Sol Survivor, now available for download on Steam.

The v1.5 patch brings a pair of adjustments to the game including a fix for a glitch that apparently made survival mode beatable after an hour of play, when you know it’s not supposed to be beatable ever.

The file can be had on Steam via an auto-update for those who own the game. From the change log:

Sol Survivor 1.5:

• Added option to view crash report text.
• Fixed survival mode being beatable after an hour.

A demo is also available for Sol Survivor for anyone with a Steam account.

Spring Cleaning Contest!

Did you know we are running a kickass forum contest where you could win a copy of Machinarium, Shattered Horizon, or Aaaaa! A Reckless Disregard for Gravity?

Check it out!

Cadenza has released a new update for its strategy title Sol Survivor, now available for download on Steam.

The update is actually patch v1.3 and patch v1.4, bringing a list of enhancements along with a handful of bug fixes to the tower defense game. Enhancements include six new multiplayer maps, two for the Wars mode and four for Co-op.

The file can be downloaded via the auto-updater on Steam, if you own the game and it doesn’t start instantly just restart the client. From the change log:

Sol Survivor 1.3:

Bugs fixed:

• Improved detection of Windows Media Player and alternate audio engine.
• Fixed Survival balance bug.

Enhancements:

• Added colorblind mode for health bars.

Sol Survivor 1.4:

Bugs fixed:

• Fixed host name appearing as game name.
• Fixed officer randomization persistence.
• Fixed tooltips consuming memory when game is minimized.

Enhancements:

• Added six new multiplayer maps (two Wars and four Co-Op).
• Added bindable controls.
• Added option to zoom to the cursor.
• Added option to clip the cursor to the game area when fullscreen.
• Added kicking and spot swapping on multiplayer lobbies.
• Improved lobby behavior when mutliplayer games end.
• Muted sounds when out of focus or minimized.
• Prevented survival balance from flattening out after an hour.

Cadenza has released a new update for its strategy title Sol Survivor, now available for download on Steam.

The patch brings co-op campaign multiplayer mode, allowing users to play alongside one another through a campaign. The update also brings a list of bug fixes along with some balancing tweaks for the turret defense title.

The file can be downloaded by owners of the game simply by restarting the client. From the change log:

Sol Survivor

Bugs fixed:

• Fixed crash bug when attempting to upgrade silos.
• Fixed rendering artifacts from forced driver MSAA on NVIDIA cards.
• Fixed invisible terrain on Shader Model 2.0 hardware.
• Fixed text chat on international keyboards.
• Fixed unsupported hardware crashing instead of displaying a message window.
• Fixed survival balance causing bosses to come in too early.
• Fixed prebuilt turrets not counting in player records, blocking Equal Opportunity Constructor.
• Added fallback music engine for systems that do not have Windows Media Player.

Enhancements:

• Added Co-Op Campaign multiplayer mode.
• Added promotion message archive, viewable by clicking rank on main menu.
• Tweaked radiation and railgun turret damage.
• Tweaked difficulty on some Versus and Co-Op maps.

Back with another installment of Indie Links for your reading pleasure/pain. Today’s batch is a good one, with some more Indie GDC wrap you shouldn’t miss, interviews, previews and even the broader thinking stuff.

GDC Gallery: How The Indie Fund Could Change Game Dev Destiny (boingboing)
“Like UK studio Introversion’s indie-rallying clarion call at the 2006 Independent Games Festival, the announcement of an indie-led investment strategy — simply called the Indie Fund — could be the next watershed moment for the future of independent gaming.”

GDC 2010: Please Finish Your Game (TIGSource)
“The inimitable Chris Hecker ranted at GDC this year. His rant, titled “Please Finish Your Game”, addresses the issue of development time in the mainstream and indie communities. Specifically, he asks developers to pursue good ideas to their “logical and aesthetic extent”.”

‘Splosion Man Dev Reveals Next Project: Comic Jumper (GSW)
“Twisted Pixel, the indie studio behind beloved downloadable titles The Maw and ‘Splosion Man, revealed its next XBLA game at SXSW yesterday: Comic Jumper: The Adventures of Captain Smiley.”

Interview: Markus ‘Notch’ Persson On The Making Of Minecraft (GSW)
“Minecraft is an interesting case when it comes to indie games. Based on the ideas of another indie game, Infiminer, Minecraft is the product of Swedish developer, Markus “Notch” Persson. His game is currently available to play for free at www.minecraft.net and players have congregated to the multiplayer side of the game”

Towering Inferno: Sol Survivor Preview (RPS)
“It’s that time of year again when the fresh spring towers erupt from the ground and begin to gun down passing alien body-snatchers. We’ve seen tower defence games overhauled again and again, but the greenest and most flexible of these rejigs is probably Sol Survivor, which I’ve been playing on and off all week. Read on for some thoughts on a game which makes titanic efforts to raise this least-appreciated of genres.”

Preview: High Strangeness (IndieGames)
“With the above pre-alpha footage just released, now is as good a time as any to discuss High Strangeness. In development for Xbox Live Indie Games and iPhone, the game is an attempt by a team of four to create the kind of experience they used to play on the SNES as kids.”

The Joystiq Indie Pitch: Promethium Marketing (Joystiq)
“”We sometimes neglect to give independent developers our coverage love (or loverage, if you will) as we get caught up in AAA, AAAA or the rare quintuple-A titles. To remedy that, we’re giving indies the chance to create their own loverage and sell you, the fans, on their studios and products. This week we talk with former Xbox community staffer Chris Paladino, who’s in the unusual position of working with a games consulting firm, Promethium Marketing, that decided to step out with a game of its own, an unusual hybrid of Twitter and tower defense called Tweet Defense.”

Semi-Indie Related:

Budget Win: Tax Break For UK Developers (RPS)
“British videogame designers have long been campaigning for tax breaks in the UK, similar to those in New Zealand and Canada. In today’s budget, it seems that something has finally been done to help. Alistair Darling has today announced a pledge for a tax credit system that will aid creative industries, including game development.”

Study claims hardcore PC gaming hardware revenues will continue to rise (BigDownload)
“The PC game industry may be switching from a retail business to a digital download revenue model but gamers still need to buy hardware to play their games.”

Unmissable Mods Month (UserCreated)
“Mods are awesome. Like, really awesome. So awesome it hurts. Do you know what else is awesome? Lists. So what have we done? Why, we’ve only gone and written down the names of our 20 favourite mods of all time in an unordered list, and we’re only going to write about one of them every day for the next month (except weekends, when we’ll do a sleep).”