Welcome to Guinea Pig Runaway Together 1.0

VERSION 1.0 — FULL RELEASE

Early Access is over. Guinea Pig Runaway Together is officially 1.0!

Since our Early Access launch, Guinea Pig Runaway Together has grown significantly through new game modes, expanded content, major visual upgrades, multiplayer improvements, accessibility features, performance optimizations, and countless fixes based on player feedback.

Version 1.0 represents the most complete version of the game yet.

THE BIGGEST ADDITIONS SINCE EARLY ACCESS

• Brand-new map: Forgotten Forest
• Race Mode with 1v1, 2v2 and up to 4-player Free-for-All
• Built-in Voice Chat
• Local Co-op
• Hardcore Mode
• Dedicated Hardcore Leaderboards
• More than 4 hour of new gameplay content
• Major map expansions and redesigns
• Complete graphics and rendering overhaul
• Improved water rendering and water physics
• At least 50% better performance compared to the Early Access launch version
• Standard & Easy Physics Modes
• Colorblind Accessibility
• Major Multiplayer & Connection Improvements
• Improved Controller & Steam Deck Support
• New Tutorial System
• New Cosmetics & Customization Options
• Dozens of gameplay, UI and quality-of-life improvements
• Countless bug fixes

And that’s only the short version.

Here’s everything that changed on the road to Version 1.0.

RACE MODE

• Added Race Mode with 1v1, 2v2 and up to 4-player Free-for-All support.
• Added competitive races where players or teams must reach the finish before their opponents.

NEW WAYS TO PLAY

• Added Local Co-op, allowing two players to play together on the same device.
• Added Hardcore Mode, which removes checkpoints for a more challenging experience.
• Added a dedicated Hardcore leaderboard.
• Added built-in Voice Chat, with an option to fully disable it from Settings.

GRAPHICS & RENDERING OVERHAUL

Version 1.0 brings a major overhaul to the game's graphics and rendering technology.

• Reworked major parts of the game's rendering pipeline and lighting systems.
• Completely rebuilt the game's visual effects.
• Added Screen Space Reflections for real-time reflections.
• Added Spectral Ambient Occlusion.
• Added Spectral Global Illumination for real-time indirect lighting.
• Reworked the shadow system for improved visual quality and performance.
• Reworked the volumetric lighting system for improved quality and performance.
• Added Eye Adaptation.
• Reworked the overall color palette and color grading for a more cinematic look.
• Improved overall lighting and visual consistency across the game.

PERFORMANCE & OPTIMIZATION

• Achieved at least 50% higher performance compared to the Early Access launch version, despite introducing more advanced real-time rendering features.
• Performed a broad optimization pass across gameplay systems and existing code.
• Improved CPU, GPU and memory efficiency.
• Improved frame-time consistency and reduced stuttering.
• Improved performance on lower-end systems and older GPUs.
• Completely reworked the Low and Medium graphics presets.
• Improved texture memory management.
• Optimized shadow rendering and level-of-detail distances.
• Improved shader compilation and overall rendering efficiency.

WATER OVERHAUL

• Improved overall water rendering quality.
• Added a new water physics system with physical gameplay interactions.

CONTENT & LEVEL EXPANSION

• Added a brand-new map: Forgotten Forest.
• Added new obstacles, gameplay sequences and challenges throughout Forgotten Forest.
• Added more than one hour of new gameplay content.
• Added new cooperative puzzles.
• Added new gameplay events and sequences.
• Added new obstacles focused on player coordination.
• Added new environmental challenges.
• Added new hidden easter eggs.
• Reworked and expanded multiple existing sections.
• Overhauled large portions of the original Early Access map.

FLOODED CITY IMPROVEMENTS

• Made major visual improvements throughout Flooded City.
• Reworked several gameplay sections.
• Adjusted obstacles based on player feedback.
• Reduced the speed of the rolling boulder.
• Rebalanced sinking platform timings.
• Improved performance throughout the level.

PHYSICS & MOVEMENT

• Reworked major parts of the physics system.
• Improved balloon movement and rotation.
• Improved wall running.
• Improved interactions with moving platforms.
• Improved checkpoint spawning behavior.
• Reduced unpredictable physics behavior.
• Rebalanced multiple gameplay sections.
• Added Standard and Easy Physics Modes.

MULTIPLAYER & NETWORKING

• Significantly improved the peer-to-peer multiplayer system.
• Improved overall connection and lobby stability.
• Improved connection handling for slower internet connections.
• Improved ping and network issue detection.
• Improved synchronization between host and clients.
• Improved moving platform and animation synchronization.
• Improved game-start synchronization.
• Improved lobby joining and disconnect handling.

CAMERA IMPROVEMENTS

• Improved overall camera behavior and responsiveness.
• Increased the camera auto-alignment delay.
• Added an option to disable camera auto-alignment.
• Reworked camera shake for smoother transitions.
• Fixed situations where the camera could become unresponsive.

ACCESSIBILITY

• Added colorblind support with Protanopia, Deuteranopia and Tritanopia modes.
• Added Easy Physics Mode for a more forgiving experience.
• Improved text readability.
• Improved readability on smaller displays.
• Improved controller and menu navigation.
• Added additional gameplay and camera settings.

CONTROLLER & STEAM DECK

• Improved overall controller support.
• Improved controller menu navigation and virtual cursor behavior.
• Added native SteamOS virtual keyboard support.
• Improved virtual keyboard behavior.
• Fixed several virtual cursor and keyboard issues.

TUTORIAL & NEW PLAYER EXPERIENCE

• Added a new tutorial system.
• Improved explanations for core mechanics.
• Improved early-game UI feedback and readability.
• Improved the overall first-time player experience.

CUSTOMIZATION

• Improved the character customization system.
• Added new cosmetic options.
• Improved skin and outfit selection.
• Improved customization UI and navigation.
• Fixed overlapping customization tabs.

UI & QUALITY OF LIFE

• Improved the overall user interface.
• Improved menu navigation.
• Improved leaderboard interfaces.
• Added direct in-game bug reporting.
• Improved the feedback system.
• Improved Settings menu behavior.
• Fixed incorrect key displays in the Controls menu.
• Fixed player names displaying incorrectly.
• Fixed various menu and navigation issues.

AUDIO

• Increased overall audio volume.
• Fixed audio being quieter than intended on certain devices.
• Made various audio balancing improvements.

GAMEPLAY BALANCING

• Rebalanced the overall difficulty curve.
• Adjusted several difficult gameplay sections.
• Made the forest boulder escape more forgiving.
• Reduced the Flooded City rolling boulder speed.
• Adjusted sinking platform timings.
• Improved several checkpoint locations.
• Increased the size and number of bombs during the bomb sequence.
• Fine-tuned obstacles throughout the map based on player feedback.

BUG FIXES

• Fixed a critical issue that could corrupt save files.
• Fixed a rare issue where guinea pigs could appear outside the balloon.
• Fixed a very rare issue preventing players from moving when a match started.
• Fixed rare sudden disconnections after joining a lobby.
• Fixed construction-zone elevators disappearing.
• Fixed unexpected FPS drops.
• Fixed certain settings not saving correctly.
• Fixed settings becoming inaccessible after viewing the tutorial.
• Fixed the feedback system not functioning correctly.
• Fixed player names displaying incorrectly.
• Fixed cars disappearing from traffic in Hardcore Mode.
• Fixed multiple achievement-related issues.
• Fixed the launch message not appearing correctly.
• Fixed incorrect keyboard key displays.
• Fixed multiple localization issues.
• Fixed certain characters rendering incorrectly in some languages.
• Fixed various particle and visual effect issues.
• Fixed multiple camera and UI issues.
• Fixed several multiplayer synchronization issues.
• Fixed numerous minor gameplay issues.

FROM EARLY ACCESS TO VERSION 1.0

What started as the original Early Access release now includes Forgotten Forest, Race Mode, Local Co-op, Voice Chat, Hardcore Mode, new physics modes, expanded levels, new gameplay content, accessibility features, a completely reworked graphics pipeline, real-time reflections, real-time global illumination, improved water physics, major multiplayer improvements and significantly better performance.

Thank you to everyone who played during Early Access, shared feedback, reported bugs, created videos, played with friends and helped us shape the game into what it is today.

Welcome to Guinea Pig Runaway Together 1.0.