Hello subROVers!

I'm Jose from retro g sqr3Lab and it's time for a news report, so grab your favorite drink and a snack and without further ado let's talk about

GAME UPDATES

A few days ago I published v0.7.60, a tech update addressing a security issue detected in Unity, and a few hours ago I activated Cloud saves. This should all be working smoothly, but do let me know if you have any issues.

I would like to give a big thank you to Hypercat. I asked for help testing the cloud saves and they immediately volunteered and went through the whole procedure out of the kindness of their hearts. Thank you so much!

STATE OF THE TITANIC

I've finished the center of the bridge, including the telemotor, plaques, flowers, and the tangled mess of wires behind them. I believe this is the centerpiece of the wreck so I've done my best to represent the plaques accurately: when I "publish" them in game, there'll be no other resource anywhere -games, videos, or pictures-, where you can see all the plaques together with this much detail.

Overview of the telemotor area (WIP)

One of several plaques laid by Michael Harris (left-most in the picture above) with final materials

This I know because I had to research them one by one with the invaluable help from Spencerk062 and Resident Naronic Expert. Every plaque has a story, but perhaps the most interesting one is the typo in the Cobh plaque, which says "Go Dtuga Din suaimhneas" instead of "Go dTuga Dia". The actual character is not quite clear, but it looks more like an n than an a, so I reproduced it the way it looks, rather than the way it should look.

Cobh plaque in the foreground (WIP). Note how the "n" in Din, third paragraph, has a blurry trace of what looks like part of an "a". Also note the handles, which reproduce the originals down to the type, shape, and braiding

WORK AHEAD

I'm currently finishing the sides of the bridge area, and then I'll proceed aft. I won't keep this standard of accuracy, though. I'll make sure that the main elements and proportions are correct, but otherwise I'll focus on shipping asap.

UNSTRUCTURED THOUGHTS

In the last few months I've wrestled with getting information to people on Steam. I'm very active in the Discord server and here on Steam I post about development just about everywhere I can, but I still don't know if any of this information is reaching you.

It looks to me that the only piece of "news" that actually matters is updating the game, because it necessarily reaches everyone. Perhaps the latest update, however small, will do more to reassure people that I'm committed to the game than all my other efforts combined, so I hope it's all for good. I'm happy I've got the cloud saves working, too.

At the same time I'd be concerned if updates were the only information that reaches people, but I truly don't know what else I can do until I publish the Titanic and go back to a more balanced content-vs-features developing schedule.

A few days ago I was asked in the forum if the game was dead. I'm copying below parts of my response summarizing the current situation:

• I'm developing the game alone.

• Ever since the 0.7.5 update I have been working on the Titanic. I did not want it to take so long, but several things happened, including Magellan releasing their own game with a scanned model that made mine insta-obsolete. I'm not trying to compete with them, but I want my model to be up to date and have something unique to offer (see above).

• For the last couple of years life has been throwing me devilish curveballs, like my studio flooding repeatedly, or very serious family health-related emergencies. I'm ploughing through it all but there's weeks where this impacts heavily my work schedule and there's nothing I can do about it.

  Here's a short I made a few weeks ago about the studio, https://youtube.com/shorts/FDuX3SSbVUw. I had spent several nights without any sleep, taking bucket after bucket of water out, and I was losing my marbles (I think it shows😅). Fortunately they've since found and plugged the source of the leaks (a huge underground hole in one of the neighbour's drain pipes), though the room is still very damp and a complete mess.

There's another bit of recent news, which is that I had to cancel the VR prototype. I misunderstood the terms of the grant and missed an internal deadline, which means I wouldn't receive part of the funds I need to make it happen. In other circumstances I would have tried anyway, but I don't think I can take the extra pressure in something which at this time is not essential (I still want to do it, though).

On a positive note, the Discord server is starting to take a life of its own, which is fascinating to watch. I like how the "binder" is the game, but people are expanding on various topics way beyond that. I'm learning a lot from it, and have made precious new friends there too. I wish I could do something similar here on Steam, but it doesn't have that kind of immediacy, or I haven't quite figured it out yet. Anyway, if you have Discord you should pay us a visit. We have an awesome new moderator, thank you Beriah Hacker!

And this is all for now! I would like to wish you a very Happy Holidays, and a 2026 full of Delightful Discoveries! 🎉

GET IN TOUCH

• From the game - press the Feedback button in the main or pause menus

• Through the forum right here on Steam

• Through our Discord Server[discord.gg],

• Through Bluesky[bsky.app],

• Through Twitter,

• Through mastodon[mstdn.social],

• By email (info 'at' sqr3lab.com)[sqr3lab.com)]

SUPPORT SUBROV

PS. If you enjoy subROV, please leave a review. It helps a lot!

I set up a Patreon too, but I don't know if I can post the link, so I'll leave it there 😅

Thank you for support - Happy subROVing! ⚓😄

Jose

PS. Austin, you're definitely not chopped liver