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Hi friends!

Happy holidays! I'm still mid-Chanukah right now and up to my shins in latkes, but whether you're celebrating or not I hope you've had a fabulous few weeks. Lots to talk about today!

First, today is the release of the final pre-Early Access content patch, "Room at the Inn!" This includes activating the first Town Event in Vidar, "Wake." Vidar is all about experiencing and exploring death from every possible perspective, and so the celebratory/party tradition from so many cultures and embodied by the wake is definitely a welcome addition to the game. If you find yourself exploring the library while Dani dies, make sure to pour one out for her.

Rozsa is also keeping a better watch on who is staying at the inn these days. The various NPCs that can move in and out will find their plans foiled unless there are a sufficient number of rooms open and available. This particularly impacts Csaba, Tomi, and Cecilia; if they are looking for housing but the inn is completely full, they'll need to look elsewhere.

This patch also includes new ways through each of the Ice Cave maps, and new puzzles in the Ice Cave that feature the simplest sliding box. Just a little push can make a huge difference when it comes to slipping around.

Second, we finally have a Mac launcher! Mac-using Kickstarter backers who wanted a non-Steam version of Vidar are finally getting their copy of the game, leaving only our non-Steam Linux backers. We're hoping to get them taken care of next week. This version of the Mac build also includes functioning key bindings and various other Mac-specific bug fixes.

Third, next week marks a big date in the march to Early Access. The "Coming Soon" Steam Page will launch on January 4, which will allow you to wishlist the game. It will also activate the Community Hub on Steam, where those who already have the game can share screenshots, reviews, LetsPlays and more. To celebrate, on the 4th we're also releasing the Early Access Launch Trailer! It's a huge day around here, so mark your calendar.

Fourth, Vidar will be making it's last pre-Early Access showing at Playcrafting's Winter Expo on January 26, 2017 at Microsoft in NYC. This event is always so good, I couldn't pass it up even though it's days before launch and I'll be going crazy. If you're in town, we'd love to see you - early bird tickets are $8 so make sure to nab them before the price goes up.

Fifth, please welcome Razbury Games' new community manager, Roderick Sang! Roderick had played games intensely on his Gameboy Color and N64 as a kid but never thought of himself as a gamer until the Gamecube came along. It was when he started playing through "Skies of Arcadia: Legends" that Roderick realized that video games, and RPGs especially, would be an important part of the rest of his life.

After graduating college and finding himself at a loss for what he wanted to do, Roderick eventually discovered a burning passion for Storytelling and Sound. Consuming radio and podcasts voraciously and reflecting on why some games' use of audio were more memorable and impressionable than others, Roderick has started down the path of educating himself on Sound Design.

He can currently be found working on an interactive story that use sound to further immerse the reader into the role of the main character, creating a YouTube series on the various demons in the Shin Megami Tensei line of games, as well as producing his own podcast on why people play video games. You can learn more about him on his website, YouTube, or Twitter.

I'm thrilled to have Roderick join the team to help out with all things social media and community. You might find him around the subreddit, the Official Wiki, the twitter account, the facebook page, the Steam Community Hub (next week!), or any of the other myriad places Vidar lives these days.

Ok, that's enough news for one week, right? Let's get to some patch notes!

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Alpha 0.7.6.0

Quests

• New Town Event: Wake. Explore Tamas and Dani's friendship in the mid-game.
  
• Modifications made to "Hunting Party"
  

Puzzles

• Added 25 new puzzles in the Ice Cave (bringing the total in the Ice Cave to 64; you'll see 12 in a given playthrough, give or take)
  
• Added a new path through Ice Cave 1
  
• Added a new path through Ice Cave 2
  
• Added two new paths through Ice Cave 3
  
• Added a new path through Ice Cave 4
  
• Holes in the last room of the Ruins now properly block your path
  
• Fixed various crashes related to the Ruins
  
• Fixed various graphics issues in the Ruins
  
• Fixed various passage issues in the Ruins
  
• Lightbridges in the Ruins are now embettered
  
• Opening one door in the fifth room of the Ruins will not open all of the rest of the doors
  
• Pillars now really do serve as pressure for the sake of pressure plates
  
• Ramps placed in the water work appropriately
  
• Reset now works in the Ruins Cave
  
• Reset now no longer crashes the game if you have loaded a boulder into a geyser in the Boulder Cave AND have loaded the game from a save (that's a mouthful)
  
• Reset now correctly resets pressure plates
  
• Room five of the Ruins is now flooded with water
  
• The timer better functions in the Ruins cave
  
• Tools can now be used in the Ruins
  
• Wolves now move around in the Ruins
  
• YOU CAN NOW FALL THROUGH THE ICE IN THE RUINS CAVE (this is in all caps because it seriously took me way too long)
  
• Other spoilery fixes to the Ruins cave
  

Misc

• Autosave: when you start a new game, a new save file will be created immediately. Autosave will now save over that file (or, if you're continuing, from whatever file you loaded) rather than always autosaving a new file at the top. This means that saves kind of function like save slots now.
  
• The analogue stick is now enabled
  
• The Tool and Timer UI are hidden during the final confrontation
  
• Additional decorations have been added to the Ruins
  
• The progress bar at the start of a new file now tells you what it's doing
  
• F6 has been disabled
  

Mac / Linux

• Fixed a crash related to NPC dialogue sounds
  
• Fixed graphic rendering of items on tables
  
• Fixed player transparency when in water
  
• Fixed various other client bugs