Steel Century Groove: Midnight News

[p]Thanks so much for playing Steel Century Groove: Midnight and leaving your comments, feedback, and reviews! It's all been incredibly helpful and continues to make the game better.[/p][p][/p][p]This patch brings Midnight up to date with the latest code for an update to the Steel Century Groove demo coming next week for Steam Next Fest. That update will allow players to keep playing after finishing the demo, and will introduce the Goggle Guys' Endless and Freeplay modes that you may already be familiar with from Midnight. [/p][p][/p][p]I'd really appreciate your help finding any new bugs that might have slipped in so that Next Fest can go as smoothly as possible! And be sure to try out the demo update next week during the festival. It really helps to have more people playing during that time.[/p][p][/p][p]For Midnight itself, this update adds a new upgrade system for your replica Tenzerks that allows them to gain XP, level up, and unlock unique passives. It also includes a new sprint button, bug fixes, visual improvements, and optimizations to audio/music synchronization.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]Music[/h3]

• [p]Tracks from the built-in soundtrack can now be unlocked even while using custom music.[/p]
• [p]Updated the Custom Music help screen to indicate that you can use songs in WAV, MP3, or OGG.[/p]
• [p]Very minor improvements to beat alignment across all built-in songs.[/p]

[h3]Art/Visuals[/h3]

• [p]Opponents now have more visual variety in their replica Tenzerks.[/p]
• [p]Updated the trailer that plays at the end of Midnight.[/p]
• [p]Reduced the size of all note hit VFX.[/p]
• [p]Visual improvements to note hit VFX and the gameplay line.[/p]
• [p]Added a few new player hair options.[/p]

[h3]Gameplay[/h3]

• [p]You can now press B on the gamepad or Left Shift on the keyboard to sprint! This is available everywhere except in the ruins under the Midnight Arcade.[/p]

• [p]Replica Tenzerks can now gain XP and level up, unlocking new passives.[/p]
• [p]Added a Win Condition option to Freeplay mode that allows you to continue battling until the music is over.[/p]
• [p]Adjusted the intensity of force feedback effects throughout the game and added a new option in the options menu to control them. These effects can feel very different depending on your gamepad, so you may want to raise or lower their intensity.[/p]
• [p]Adjusted the scalings on the Fuel Injector and Inverse Ignition Coil mods for the Voltace. [/p]
• [p]The Single Use Ignition mod for the Aedonix now applies a buff, rather than increasing Acclaim gained from a single use of Impact.[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue where the Sentilon would not gain XP for combining AI with Genetic Algorithm.[/p]
• [p]Slightly reduced the Aedonix's XP gain.[/p]
• [p]The Aedonix's Meltdown counterplay is now based on ! Important moves, rather than Buffs or Debuffs.[/p]
• [p]Slightly increased the length of non-boss battles.[/p]
• [p]Small improvements to the underlying accuracy of note hit judgements (the difference is one or two frames at most).[/p]

[h3]UI[/h3]

• [p]Improved the automatic latency calibration process and added it to its own options tab.[/p]
• [p]Tips now appear when loading into battle or when defeated. These can be turned off in the options menu.[/p]
• [p]The victory screen now shows how long the battle took and your overall accuracy.[/p]
• [p]Added a new UI that appears when you receive a new replica Tenzerk explaining their special move and level up bonuses.[/p]
• [p]Replica Tenzerk moves now use an octagon shape to more easily differentiate them from your lead Tenzerk's moves[/p]
• [p]Increased gamepad navigation speed throughout all menus.[/p]
• [p]Fixed issues with HUD displays getting rotated excessively or cut off on ultrawide monitors. [/p]
• [p]Fixed various bugs that allowed you to use a gamepad to open the pause menu while other UI modals were already open.[/p]

[h3]Audio[/h3]

• [p]Improved audio scheduling for Tenzerk footstep sounds to make sure they align with the beat.[/p]
• [p]Improved audio playback of hit sounds to help them align better with the music. By default, they are now scheduled/delayed to play at the correct time when you hit a note early. You can change this setting in the Options menu.[/p]
• [p]Added UI sound effects to various places throughout the game where they were missing.[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue where the counterplay sound effect would not play when getting a burst of attention from the Aedonix's Meltdown move.[/p]

[h3]Bug Fixes[/h3]

• [p]Fixed an issue where the Dualdrive Fabricate toast popup could sometimes be hidden incorrectly when the cursor passed by.[/p]
• [p]Fixed a bug where the game could get stuck following a winning Acclaim trail to the top bar at the end of a battle.[/p]
• [p]Fixed a bug where the chromatic aberration effect could get stuck on screen if the battle ended while it was active.[/p]
• [p]Fixed a variety of issues where the player could get stuck against objects in the environment. Reduced jitter when running into obstacles.[/p]
• [p]Fixed a bug where extra, incorrect mods could appear at the end of the mods list in some circumstances.[/p][p][/p]

[p]Thanks for playing! If you run into any problems with this update or have more feedback, please send over a report via the in-game UI, comment on this update, or post it on the Steam discussion boards. I read everything![/p]

[p]Steel Century Groove has an official release date and it's January 28th 2026! Check out the new trailer for the announcement:[/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p]Make sure to add the game to your wishlist, and then get ready for release by playing the free demo so you can transfer your saves when the full game launches![/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p]

[p]Thanks for playing and leaving your feedback and bug reports![/p][p][/p]

• [p]Fixed a crash that could occur on the music selection screen or at the start of battle while analyzing custom music in the background[/p]
• [p]Fixed a crash that could occur when returning to the main menu[/p]
• [p]Fixed a crash when analyzing music files using less common formats such 24-bit audio[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue where music would not loop properly when using custom songs with an abrupt ending.[/p]
• [p]Slightly increased the length of "short" and "medium" length battles. These occur most often at the start of each area.[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue where the mods screen would auto-select a locked slot when opening it while all slots were full.[/p]
• [p]Gamepad focus now starts on the correct item ("Shuffle All" rather than the Shuffle header) on the music selection screen[/p]
• [p]Slightly reorganized credits and added a missing PR contributor.
  [/p]

Thanks for playing and leaving your feedback and bug reports!

• Fixed a rare crash when calculating gameplay splines.
  

[p]As part of Wholesome Games Steam Celebration, the all new demo is available now! [/p][p][/p][p]Download it here:[/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p]Starting in your cozy hometown, take the first steps on your Steel Century Groove journey. Fix up a broken mech and then hit the road to pursue your dreams of winning the Tenzerk Championship. [/p][p]Or dive into Demo Mode, skipping the early story and jumping directly into the full gameplay. Either way, you'll be able to continue the story from there and then transfer your save to the full game when it releases.[/p][p][/p][p]I hope you have as much fun playing the demo as I've had making it![/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]