R.E.P.O. crews have a new place to haul loot from. Developer semiwork has released v0.5.0, The Sunstone Update, which its Steam announcement calls the game's fourth major update. It went live on 29 October.
The headline addition is a whole new map, Sunstone Valley Resort, with a new enemy called the Pony. But for plenty of players the bigger news sits further down the list: gamepad support and localisation in 21 languages.
The big additions
According to semiwork's patch notes, the update adds:
- Sunstone Valley Resort, a new map;
- the Pony, a new enemy;
- gamepad support;
- localisation in 21 languages;
- 10 new cosmetics;
- three new items: the Human Gun, the Human Adventure Cable and the Recharge Orb.
The existing levels get bigger too. The notes list five new rooms in Headman Manor, four in Swiftbroom Academy, four in the Museum of Human Art and five in McJannek Station, plus a new music track for the Museum.
Japanese outlet 4Gamer highlights the language change for its readers: with this update, R.E.P.O. officially supports Japanese.
Changes you'll feel in a run
A few of the smaller notes look set to change how sessions play out.
Shopkeeper haggling. You can now hold items up to the shopkeeper for a chance at a discount, or, as semiwork puts it, "having the item destroyed". Choose your moment.
Death head scouting. Players possessing their death head can now discover valuables, according to the notes.
A soft-lock safety net. If there aren't enough valuables left in a level to complete extraction, smaller valuables will now spawn a short distance away from players. The notes file this under soft locks: runs that could otherwise never be finished.
Grab lead. A new adjustable grab lead lets held objects and melee swings move ahead of your aim, with separate settings for grabbing and melee, on both mouse and gamepad.
The notes also add an expression wheel, a map view of what is waiting at the extraction point while you're in the shop, and a mirror next to the Cosmetic Machine. Tumble Climb's climbing and swinging have been reworked with smoother camera follow, and semiwork says level loading should freeze less, with microphone input now continuing between levels.
Balancing and fixes
On the balance side, several valuables have changed. The notes make the Manor Radio, Manor Camera, Manor Diamond Display, Museum Baby Head and Swiftbroom Master Potion more valuable, and the Manor Coffin, Manor Piano and McJannek Flamethrower less heavy. The Manor Dinosaur is less fragile. The enemy Elsa now generates less overcharge in her small form when she isn't stunned.
The fix list is long. Highlights include healing no longer taking 10 HP when the target needs less, enemies no longer being impossible to pick up at certain strength values, and a fix for save files that could become corrupted if the game was opened more than once at the same time. Voice chat also gets various playback and reconnect fixes.
Beau's take: New maps get the trailers, but gamepad support and proper localisation are the changes that widen who can actually join your lobby. The soft-lock fix is the quiet hero for me, though. Nothing kills a good crew faster than a run that can't be finished because someone dropped the wrong vase.
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