This is a Post-Fest update: we went back through the festival coverage and addressed all the issues we saw players run into, along with new audio options, gentler onboarding for new diggers, and per-profile leaderboard control.
Audio & music
- New Music Style setting: choose Time Pressure (default), Upbeat, or Lyric. Each style has its own set of tracks and varies between sessions, and you can switch mid-dig.
- The "ticking clock" pitch-shift is now optional (Time Pressure only), with a Max Pitch slider.
- Quieter, more consistent default volumes and a calmer mix.
New-player guidance
- New diggers now get gentle, on-the-job tips and friendlier early dig sites that ease off as you find your footing. Experienced players are unaffected.
Leaderboards & profiles
- You can now opt a profile out of the public leaderboards (Options > Accessibility). Opting out removes that profile's scores from the public boards within 24 hours; you can opt back in any time.
Other improvements
- The Submit Feedback button now opens a quick in-game form instead of your web browser.
- You can open the pause menu (and reach Options) during the tutorial.
Fixes
- Fixed notification spam and a race that could hide the notification tray.
- Fixed a slightly confusing Basics tutorial step.
- Cursor offset under Proton fixed. Linux has a native build that was never affected, so Proton is optional, but if you prefer running through it, clicks now land correctly there too.
More from AE: Archeological Expedition
Other announcements
Update 1.4.0: New Soundtrack and a Cautionary Tale for Ukrainian Game DevsA new soundtrack Version 1.4.0 replaces the music across the whole game. All three music styles you can pick in Options now play new tracks. Time Pressure An original theme commissioned for AE from composer Wazir. Pitch shifting works exactly as before, so the music tightens as your dig clock runs down. Upbeat and Lyric Both styles are built from new track sets, ten tracks for Upbeat and seven…1.3.0 - Sandstone updateVersion 1.3.0 Last weekend we were happy to observe Daskalos playing our game on stream . We took his feedback and ran with it: this update brings the most important changes from it, while other ideas found their place in our internal roadmap. Sandstone, not fossils · It was pointed out to us (by multiple people, actually) that using fossils as a soft obstacle was unwise. Fossils are rare guest…1.2.0 - Stability updateThis is an overall polish update. We went through all systems and polished all rough edges and possible weak spots.