[h2]Introduction[/h2] Originally, we intended to release Scopophobia - which is Secret Laboratory's next major update - in late March. As is now obvious, however, we've missed this release timeframe by a very wide margin, and we feel it's unacceptable to withhold the update any longer after Megapatch 2's delays and missing our own promise to deliver the patch in the first quarter of the year. As such, we're releasing 10.0 as a public beta, available now for you to play! Although this is a public beta and many things are subject to change, we've decided that, rather than delaying further, it is both fairer to our community and more helpful for ourselves to release a beta for wide-scale testing, and to address issues as they come up. Obviously, of course, we haven't simply dumped the game onto you for you to QA test for us. We've pressed hard to make the game as stable as we can manage with our limited resources - owing to finals season and the current pandemic of COVID-19 - and we hope that although incomplete, Scopophobia's beta will be fun for everyone who plays it. [h2]How to Access the Beta[/h2] We're releasing both the client and the server for Scopophobia's beta. As such, server owners will be able to host their own servers on the new version, while players will likely be able to access the same communities they're familiar with. Here are some instructions on how to access the beta client: [h3]Players[/h3] [olist] [*]Right click on SCP: Secret Laboratory in your Steam library and select Properties. [img]https://i.imgur.com/pJizqWC.png[/img] [*]Navigate to the Betas tab in the Properties menu [*]From the drop-down menu, select the branch named "scopophobia". Close the window. [b]IMPORTANT:[/b] If you can't see "scopophobia" in the dropdown menu, you may need to restart your Steam client for the update to appear. [img]https://i.imgur.com/0SzWAba.png[/img] [*]Steam should start downloading the beta. Once it's done - as usual, press "play" to start the game. [/olist] We've released the server files early for this update to server owners, so if they've opted in and set up a server, you'll hopefully be able to access servers as soon as your update is downloaded. [h3]Server Owners[/h3] Repeat the same steps as above. However, instead of SCP: Secret Laboratory, you'll be changing the branch of the SCP: Secret Laboratory Dedicated Server tool on Steam. The overall hosting process hasn't changed significantly since 9.1.3, but you may want to review your configuration files in light of the new changes. There's a potential risk of memory leaks, which can cause servers to start lagging. We're working on fixing that, but you can temporarily prevent it by restarting the servers regularly (time intervals depend on your hardware, but performance usually stays good for at least 5 rounds). You may also expect Northwood Staff Members and the Global Moderation to use the Remote Admin for debugging or bugfixing purposes (such us requesting server/round restarts once it gets laggy). [h2]Beta Information[/h2] As this is a public beta, you'll be able to participate in the creation and testing of SL's next major update. However, of course, bugs are to be expected, and issues may happen. We'll be monitoring the stability of the game and trying to fix these issues as they appear. Updates to the beta branch may happen with little or no warning. Many features you find may receive significant tuning, tweaking, or even removal between now and the update's public release. During this time, we greatly appreciate your patience, and especially your feedback. While we've already collected extensive feedback reports from our Patreon betas, this is also a sensitive time, and we'd like to perform as well as we possibly can. This is our first large-scale public beta, and although we expect to make some mistakes, we also want to learn from the experience. As such, if you have any feedback, input, bug reports, or anything you have to say about the beta, the best place to do so is either our Steam community forums or our official Discord server, which you can find at https://discord.com/invite/scpsl. Sometime in the coming weeks, our feedback team will be releasing a community form, and this survey will be very helpful for letting us know what to prioritize. Keep us in the loop, and help us make this the best update it can be. We don't know how long the public beta for the update will last. Chances are, we'll close the beta shortly before public release so that we can wrap up our final polish and balance passes. Or, it'll go until the public release, or it may not last long in general. We don't know! We'll be making changes as we go along, and generally doing what we can to stabilize the update and make it more fun to play. [h2]Mini Changelog[/h2] Our complete patch notes for Scopophobia are still a work-in-progress, and we don't have time to fully translate them with our limited resources. So, as such, we've prepared a tidy list of the most significant features in the patch, which you can find below: [list] [*]Completely reworked SCP-096's mechanics, appearance, and audio [*]Implemented new status effects throughout the game [*]Added a stamina meter to add a more thoughtful element to movement [*]Re-added red lights for the Alpha Warhead [*]Added a "spawning ticket" system to prevent rounds from stalling for a very long time from continuous respawn waves [*]Implemented countdown timers for Light Containment Zone decontamination in various places throughout the map [*]Ran a comprehensive rebalancing pass over many aspects of the game in light of the new changes [*]Fixed a plethora of bugs, exploits, and cheat vulnerabilities [/list] [h2]Conclusion[/h2] This is a unique time for all of us, not originally what we wanted to do. There are many reasons that Scopophobia has taken as long as it has, but we sincerely hope that this beta release can, in some form, make up for how long the update has taken. We're working as hard as we can to get the update into a state where we can confidently release it to the public without substantial issues we've encountered - including memory leaks, server desync, and especially networking troubles - and we want to thank you for bearing with us in a difficult time and promise to you that we'll do what we can to get the update into your hands as fast as possible. In the meantime, enjoy the beta, let us know your thoughts, and let's make a spooky game together. ~ Northwood Studios