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In the indie world of secret handshakes and underground brunch meetings, there's a specific phrase for the following complex process, as described by developer Colin Northway: "Apply to Steam, be rejected, release without it, get popular, be noticed by Valve, release on Steam."

This is widely accepted as the "Offspring Fling" submission process. It takes the name of Kyle Pulver's retro platformer, which launched on Steam in May, months after not launching on Steam, despite Pulver's attempts. Northway shares this rejection jargon with us in terms of his own puzzle game, Incredipede, and Steam Greenlight:

"This is the path Offspring Fling took before Greenlight and it's the path Incredipede will take after Greenlight. It's kind of sad because I thought the point of Greenlight is to specifically avoid the 'Offspring Fling' situation."

Fixes:
- In-cab signalling enhancements for an upcoming DLC title
- Fix for Blueprint Editor "Invalid Parameter" error
- Rankings handle UTF-8 correctly
- Removal of very small gaps in speed limit properties
- Workshop tags are not localised
- Non-ASCII Workshop text correctly handled
- More info shown on Not A Serialised File error

The Borderlands 2: Mechromancer Pack is Now Available on Steam.

This download grants the Mechromancer, a 5th playable character class who can summon a destructive robot named Deathtrap. In addition to this new class, this pack also includes bonus items which were included in the Borderlands 2 Premiere Club Pack, including the Gearbox Gold Gun Pack, a Golden Key, which unlocks rare items in the mysterious Sanctuary Loot Chest, and the Vault Hunters Relic, which boosts your gear-hunting fortunes.

Note: If you own the Borderlands 2: Season Pass or have pre-purchased the game and received the Premiere Club content, you do not need to purchase this content.

Save 66% on the Risen 2: Dark Waters during this week's Midweek Madness*!

Set several years after the end of Risen, raging titans have devastated the world and pushed humanity to the brink of existence. Subsequently, monstrous creatures have risen from the watery depths of the sea and their attacks have brought all seafaring to a grinding halt. The hero, now a member of the Inquisition, is sent out to find out how to stop the chaos caused by these creatures from the deep. His quest begins with rumors that the pirates who frequent the southern islands are the only ones who know a way to get rid of the creatures once and for all and end their reign of terror.

*Offer ends Thursday at 4PM Pacific Time

In celebration of the newly available, Blocks That Matter Steam Workshop Save 50% off Blocks That Matter during this week's Midweek Madness!

Blocks That Matter Steam Workshop
Blocks That Matter Steam Workshop is now available! Create and share your own levels, language files and custom BTM's so that Tetrobot keeps it's brain in working order.

You are the Tetrobot: a tiny robot that can drill blocks of matter one by one, collect them, and recycle them into new pieces of 4 blocks. You also have the possibility to destroy lines of 8+ blocks in a very «retro russian» game style. Sand, wood, stone, obsidian, iron, diamond: each matter has its specific behaviour you'll have to use wisely and take advantage of them. So get ready to use your brain and combine your platforming and puzzle-solving skills in this incredible mashup!

Today's Deal: Save 50% off Babel Rising!

Look for the deals each day on the front page of Steam. Or follow us on twitter or Facebook for instant notifications wherever you are!

Retro City Rampage is now available on Steam and is 10% off until October 16th at 10AM Pacific time!

This 8-bit nostalgic throwback warps open-world carjacking BACK TO THE... '80s.

Play 60+ story missions and 40+ arcade challenges. "Borrow" vehicles and outrun the law while mowing down your fellow citizens! Jump on pedestrians for coins, or use them for target practice with over 25 weapons and POWER-UPS! WHOA!

Borderlands 2 is getting its fifth playable character today, a week ahead of schedule. Gearbox chief Randy Pitchford tweeted the surprise breakout for Gaige the Mechromancer, promising the DLC's availability across all platforms sometime today. The content is free with Premiere Club editions of the game, otherwise it costs 800 MSP or $9.99.

Last week Gearbox revealed Gaige's skill tree, which imbues the Mechromancer and her robotic accomplice Deathtrap with a whole host of deadly abilities. We also discovered how she sounds via the above recording, all innocence and sweetness until she starts yelling about jerk-bags and smashing the system.

XCOM: Enemy Unknown is Now Available on Steam.

XCOM: Enemy Unknown will place you in control of a secret paramilitary organization called XCOM. As the XCOM commander, you will defend against a terrifying global alien invasion by managing resources, advancing technologies, and overseeing combat strategies and individual unit tactics.

The original XCOM is widely regarded as one of the best games ever made and has now been re-imagined by the strategy experts at Firaxis Games. XCOM: Enemy Unknown will expand on that legacy with an entirely new invasion story, enemies and technologies to fight aliens and defend Earth.

You will control the fate of the human race through researching alien technologies, creating and managing a fully operational base, planning combat missions and controlling soldier movement in battle.

Check the store page for the release time in your territory.

Pick your favorite animal mask, as their time is almost here. We're talking, of course, about the release of Hotline Miami. Why else would you be wearing a mask in October?

Dennaton Games' undulating, neon-infused top-down murder and mayhem game arrives October 23. Pre-orders are open on Steam and GetGames, both of which knock $1 off the $10 price for pre-orders. GetGames pre-orders bundle an exclusive level, "GetGames EXPOsed."

Today's Deal: Save 50% off The Expendables 2 Videogame!

Look for the deals each day on the front page of Steam. Or follow us on twitter or Facebook for instant notifications wherever you are!

Stealth Bastard: Tactical Espionage Arsehole is poised to hit Steam in November with a deluxe edition, Curve Studios design director revealed on Twitter. Stealth Bastard, described as Metal Gear Solid meets Super Meat Boy, has been available since November as freeware via its official site. You might recognize Curve Studios from its previous games, Explodemon and WiiWare's Fluidity.

The deluxe edition of Stealth Bastard will feature, at the very least, some new stealth equipment, as pictured in the above image. Below we've snuck in an image of the new greenscreen-monitor menu. There's no word yet what Stealth Bastard Deluxe will cost, if anything.

DLC Quest, the satirical platformer that has players pay (with in-game currency) for necessary assets such as moving to the left, has a fresh batch of DLC coming its way, titled "Live Freemium or Die." This content brings a new campaign, world and enemies, along with buckets of new DLC to purchase, set to launch in Q4 2012 for PC, Mac and Xbox 360.

DLC Quest is on Steam Greenlight, hanging in at number 23. Developer Going Loud Studios would like to see DLC Quest in the top 10, and Live Freemium or Die will be included in the Steam version in an attempt to sweeten that deal. Check out DLC Quest in our Indie Pitch, interview with creator Ben Kane, or directly on Greenlight.

This Weekened only, save 50% off THQ's entire catalog* and even bigger savings on select titles each day, now through October 8th at 10am Pacific Time.

Today only, save 66% off Saints Row: The Third.

Plus, check out the THQ Hit Collection for even bigger savings on THQ's biggest hit titles!

Dont forget to come back tomorrow for more great deals and special offers.

*Discount does not apply to Company of Heroes 2.

Today's Deal: Save 75% off Thief Collection!

Look for the deals each day on the front page of Steam. Or follow us on twitter or Facebook for instant notifications wherever you are!

This Weekened only, save 50% off THQ's entire catalog* and even bigger savings on select titles each day, now through October 8th at 10am Pacific Time.

Today only, save 75% off the Dawn of War Franchise.

Plus, check out the THQ Hit Collection for even bigger savings on THQ's biggest hit titles!

Dont forget to come back tomorrow for more great deals and special offers.

*Discount does not apply to Company of Heroes 2.

Today's Deal: Save 66% off The Cursed Crusade!

Look for the deals each day on the front page of Steam. Or follow us on twitter or Facebook for instant notifications wherever you are!

Get a jump start into the world of Fallen Earth with the just released Survivalist Package. The Survivalist Package includes:

• 1 Month Survivalist Premium - Enhanced XP, Faction and Death Toll (PvP currency) gain, more crafting slots, faster crafting time, exclusive monthly gifts and much, much more. Check here for more details.
  
• 400 G1 Credits - Start making purchases of exclusive gear in the cash shop Marketplace with 400 G1 Credits!
  
• The Respirator - A menacing-looking black gasmask. The sleekest way to breathe clean in the Mojave.
  
• Prairie Chicken Mount - Who needs a horse when youve got a giant mutated Prairie Chicken?
  
• Blue Steel Lockbox Key - Rare lewt awaits! This valuable key allows you to open a Blue Steel Lockbox, which contains a random assortment of goodies, possibly including Cash Shop Items, tons of rare resources, Serendipity Gear and more!
  

- Allow custom radial menus to execute restricted client commands

To celebrate the release of the Kung Fu Strike: The Warrior's Rise - Master Level DLC, Digital Tribes is offering 25%* off Kung Fu Strike and the Master Level DLC.

Taking its inspiration from ancient Chinese tales of revenge and retribution and then adding a dash of over-the-top martial arts and old school arcade fun, Kung Fu Strike features 28 stages of fast-paced combo-based fighting. Blend powerful punches, high kicks and perfectly timed blocks to pull off devastating combos, all thanks to a fluid combat system that turns brawling into an art form.

The Master Level DLC features eight new levels, the DLC provides unique challenges for Kung Fu warriors looking to test their skill. The Master Levels also feature endless co-op play for those eager to crush waves of enemies beneath their iron fists. Which duo will rack up the highest score in the world?

*Offer ends Friday October 12th at 10AM Pacific Time.

Dogfight 1942 Fire Over Africa DLC is Now available on Steam.

An ominous shadow of the Axis Alliance is being cast over the sands of Africa. The scorching hot African sky will soon burn with the flames of heavy cannons and fill with smoke of bullet-ridden fighter planes. Become Britains top pilot and help the Allies repel the Nazi threat. Face the infamous general Rommel, clash with his forces above Tobruk and stand up to the challenge in one of the most pivotal battles on the African front the Battle of El Alamein.

1.0.27
CHANGES AND ADDITIONS
- Added a backward compatibility system for the pre 1.0.25 save files.

1.0.26
FIXES
- Fixed an issue where some save files created after 1.0.25 could not be loaded (the user being sent back to the menu).

All the version notes since the alpha version can be found at:
http://forums.amplitude-studios.com/showthread.php?446-Release-Notes

Patch 1.12.5.7 Notes
FUNCTIONAL
*Shared stash now creates a backup of itself
*You can no longer 'steal' items from your buyback tab by closing the window with Spacebar
*Cant drag merchant items onto the buyback tab
*Gambler does not show 'can't equip' X
*CTRL-M will instantly toggle map visibility
*Pet equipment cannot get sockets from enchantment
*Fixed rare crash related to Charming a monster
*Multiplayer logging is reduced, and can be disabled with the NEVERLOG console command (may improve performance for some clients)
*Creating a player in a difficulty other than Normal, directly joining a game, and then exiting, won't revert your stored difficulty to Normal.
*Confirmation box added for quitting without saving
*Fixed a few rare hardware related crashes
*Particle update optimizations
*Various rendering optimizations

GAMEPLAY
*Fixed an issue in multiplayer where non-killing MP players did not receive appropriate XP falloff due to level delta
*Armor Degrade properties now apply properly - degrade armor values were reduced for newly generated item properties to compensate for them working correctly - but don't worry, they will be better than before!
*Zero walkspeed monsters won't attempt to jump down
*Fixed some display issues with Fame level progress
*Wandering (non-town-based) Enchanters have a slightly better range of enchantment strengths. They also now have an approximately 20% chance to get a 'powerful enchantment', which are about 50% better than normal. This is represented by a sound and text message in game.
*Swamp Flier scream debuff will show an appropriate name on debuff icon
*Creep squish blood now has a censored version
*Fixed a few areas where loot from a specific event spawned publicly
*Fixed a few spelling errors
*Act 4 banner should properly display
*Pets can be sent to town from the last 2 boss rooms
*Fixed an issue where occasionally an errant MOUSEUP event could ignore your attack in extremely fast click situations
*DOTs now correctly calculate bonuses from +DMG%
*XP and Fame %bonuses from gear are now capped at +/- 100%
*HP bonus gear will properly be reflected in final health of player to other clients post-zoning
*Game can be saved at any time from the options menu
*Onscreen notification in bottom right of screen when saving takes place
*Console-created items now have an effect that displays that they were cheat-created
*Damage reduction effects on the player are capped to 75%
*Stat expenditures when leveling up are properly synchronized in multiplayer
*When leveling up, your health is properly recalculated on other clients
*Skill cycle keys can now be bound to mouse buttons
*Transmuted items are no longer destroyed if an inventory is full with no place to accept them
SKILLS
*Berserkers are still targetable while performing Savage Rush
*Bramble walls and Ice Prison will properly die offscreen, and if the originator leaves the zone
*Battle Standard's properties are properly exclusive (they don't stack)
*Fixed charged versions of Fire Bash from levels 9-15 using the incorrect effects (weaker when charged!)
*Howl duration fixed (Extended)
*Berserker Wolf Shade master healing property was reduced from 5%+5% per rank to 5% + 2% per rank - and the first rank properly provides healing
*Vortex Hex won't target smashables
*Fixed two ranks of Seismic Slam incorrectly doing electrical damage
*Glaive Throw has had a damage nerf (25% reduction in max damage and decreased growth per rank ) with less additional bounces per tier
*Elemental attunement properly benefits from owners level
*Elemental Boon should properly speed up cast time on last rank
*Shadowbind should properly rank up duration
*Blast Cannons armor reduction effect no longer stacks and works for both fire and physical damage
*Fixed sped up hitframe for male shield skill anim so that it is never skipped when a subsequent skill is queued
*Outlander Long Range Mastery should now affect wands as well
*Prismatic Bolt gains charge at half the previous rate
*Spider Mines should show debuff icons
*Spider Mine summon duration fixed
*Shadowling procs from wand chaos or weapon affixes properly last 20 seconds instead of 3
*Elemental Attunement shouldnt attack smashables
*Tremor rank 6 should properly perform its charged effect
*Immobilization Copter damage effect shouldnt stomp on other damage effects
*Berserker Retaliation can only trigger once per second per given target and no longer procs/leeches
*Rapid Fire and Venomous Hail now use DPS instead of Damage




SCRIPTING
*Fixed some issues with Grom's arena in multiplayer when another player speaks to the NPC while the main area is completed
*Several boss rooms have had structural changes to make it more difficult to cheese them with certain skills
*Various minor level scripting or layout repairs
*Fixed farmable Gel phasebeast room so that XP gain isn't overblown
*Fixed various other farmable phasebeast unitspawners which incorrectly granted XP
*Fixed a few areas where the player could get stuck

NETWORKING
*Fixed a case where backlog of messages for resend would escalate and disconnect the client
*Friends-only games are fixed to synch correctly across lobbies
*Fixes for various serverside issues
*Erroneous Connection Failed messages should be fixed
*Games can now be filtered near your level



GRAPHICAL
*Many wardrobe tweaks and fixes

BORING
*Various alterations were made to better support translated versions of the game, and to detect and deal with other language items during trading

There are so many games out there we couldn't possibly review them all. Welcome to Snapshot, where we highlight games that might fall outside our usual coverage but are still something we think you should know about. Today: Gateways for PC.
Yes, Gateways is a retro 2D platformer from an independent developer. Go ahead and get out all your grumbling about the saturation of retro platformers on the indie scene. Really, let it all out. There it is. And breathe.

Now that our minds are open and clear, let's talk about Gateways.

Gateways comes from Smudged Cat Games, the developer behind The Adventures of Shuggy, and it therefore carries a certain level of polish and intricacy expected from a veteran creator. It's truly not just another indie, retro 2D platformer - it's an indie, retro 2D platformer with a multitude of layers in gateway guns, time-shifting abilities, mirror refraction and flashlight technology, all set in an eccentric scientist's overrun laboratory.

Nethergate: Resurrection is now available on Steam and 20% off until October 12th at 10AM Pacific Time!

Britannia is a land ravaged by war. The natives of this land, the savage Celts, have long been subjugated by the Roman invaders. At last, they have risen up in bloody rebellion. Battles rage across the land. Cities are sacked, the inhabitants massacred. And, lost in the chaos, in the small, forgotten valley of Shadowvale, a plan is being formed.

Soon, a band of barbarians will rediscover the lost secrets of magic. They will find a way to rid their lands of their oppressors forever. And you, as the Celtic warriors, will attempt to free your people.

Or you, as the Romans, will attempt to crush them. For the good of the Empire.

This Weekened only, save 50% off THQ's entire catalog* and even bigger savings on select titles each day, now through October 8th at 10am Pacific Time.

Today only, save 75% off Metro 2033.

Plus, check out the THQ Hit Collection for even bigger savings on THQ's biggest hit titles!

Dont forget to come back tomorrow for more great deals and special offers.

*Discount does not apply to Company of Heroes 2.

Today's Deal: Save 40% off Blades of Time!

Look for the deals each day on the front page of Steam. Or follow us on twitter or Facebook for instant notifications wherever you are!

The Starter Pack for AirMech is now available on Steam!

This Starter Pack grants you instant access into the AirMech Closed Beta and gives you everything you need to get going and look good doing it! Items include:

• 7500 Diamonds: Ingame Premium Currency at a big discount
  
• 30 Days Gold VIP: Ingame rewards increased +30% Kudos, +15% XP (stacks with Boosts), +100% Solo/Coop reward time
  
• 10 Day Kudos Boost: +80% for the Player, +20% for others (including enemy) ingame (stackable)
  
• 10 Day XP Boost: +80% for the Player, +20% for others (including enemy) ingame (stackable)
  
• Lifetime Silver VIP: Complete VIP Quests, +10% Kudos in all games, forever (activates when Gold VIP expires)
  

The Scramble for Africa, all new content for Pride of Nations, is now available on Steam!

The Scramble for Africa is the longest scenario for Pride of Nations yet. Taking place for 40 years starting in 1880, the rapid colonization of Africa by European powers is underway.
With most major powers operating with a strong industrial base, its time to set your sights abroad. Will you avoid world conflict or will you lead your nation to victory when the Guns of August begin to fire?

In celebration of the launch of this DLC, Pride of Nations and all previous DLC's are available for 75% off*!

*Offer ends Friday, October 12th at 10AM Pacific time.