Sumer News

Hello Sumerians!

It’s taken a whole heck of a lot longer than we anticipated, but the promised day is drawing near: online multiplayer for Steam is nearly complete. We will, barring the unforeseen, release it at the end of the summer. That will let us mark the end of our time in Early Access and launch the full game.
Before that, though, we want to get some public testing in, so we’re opening the game up to online play. It isn't on the main branch as it’s not quite stable enough yet, but anybody who owns a copy of Sumer can enable it by right clicking on Sumer in their Steam library, selecting Properties, moving to the Betas tab, and selecting “multiplayer” in the drop down menu.



Get some internet friends together for a game and let us know how it goes! If you find any bugs, let us know! If any part of the game isn’t fun to play or feels unfair due to latency, let us know! If there’s a feature you feel is missing, let us know that, too! We’ve set up a bug report page for you to submit any errors you find to. We’ll also be keeping an eye on our Steam Discussion page.

Dev Playtest - Thursday August 15th 7PM EST
We are setting a time and date to be playing online ourselves. If you want to test your skills against Sumer’s creators, come online next Thursday (August 15th) around 7PM EST and throw down the gauntlet!

NEW BLOOD Update
Patch 0.34.1


Introducing Dipid (Pink) and Kir (Yellow) , the newest additions to the Nobles of Sumer!

Audio

• Six new Harvest tracks have been added to the game, replacing the music during the main phase. As you build up the board the music will now change to reflect the growth of your civilization!
  
• Added player specific sounds effects that play when goats hit the score UI.
  
• Increased the volume of some of Gugalanna's voice lines.
  

Balance

• Golden Ram Update: The Golden Ram now doubles the points you would get from goats at the end of the game: 2 points for every three goats.
  
• Staff of Anu Update: The Staff of Anu now grants you an additional resource in each ritual at the start of the year. This adds a dummy resource to both rituals (currently displayed by a clay) that counts only for majority.
  
• The Staff of Anu and Golden Ram are now slightly more common in Four and Six year games.
  
• Removed the chance for extra clay pits to appear in the Two year game auctions.
  
• Breeding Pens may now appear in the 2nd auction of Four year games.
  
• Goat Farms now cap out at 99 goats.
  

Controls

• Sumer now recognizes Nintendo Switch controllers!
  
• Taking over an AI will now show your control type.
  
• Tapping the fallthrough input very quickly now lets you fall through the floor.
  
• Slightly increased fallthrough input buffer time.
  
• Improved precision of landing while falling quickly.
  
• Can now control Credits using UP and DOWN.
  

General

• Various performance improvements.
  

Menu

• Added “Unjoin” control instructions to player homes on character select menu.
  
• Removed ability to pause while sun is setting at end of the day.
  
• Fixed a typo in the credits.
  

Visual

• Favor tablets now explode when Favor hits the score UI.
  
• UI discs for sleeping were remastered and are more noticeable and smooth.
  
• Favor tablets now scale correctly when hitting Year Update .
  
• Auction heads now jiggle when at max overbid.
  
• Improved fonts for character names.
  
• Widened background and added border to fix screen resolution issues.
  
• Fixed borders on bread icons to match others.
  
• Fixed font for “return to main menu” text on stats screen.
  
• Replaced down joystick icon with a clearer version.
  
• Added fix to screen resolution issue that could lead to a black screen under certain fullscreen conditions.
  
• Added a “saving” icon.
  
• Goat growth will no longer display when pausing.
  

NEW BLOOD Update
Patch 0.34.1


Introducing Dipid (Pink) and Kir (Yellow) , the newest additions to the Nobles of Sumer!

Audio

• Six new Harvest tracks have been added to the game, replacing the music during the main phase. As you build up the board the music will now change to reflect the growth of your civilization!
  
• Added player specific sounds effects that play when goats hit the score UI.
  
• Increased the volume of some of Gugalanna's voice lines.
  

Balance

• Golden Ram Update: The Golden Ram now doubles the points you would get from goats at the end of the game: 2 points for every three goats.
  
• Staff of Anu Update: The Staff of Anu now grants you an additional resource in each ritual at the start of the year. This adds a dummy resource to both rituals (currently displayed by a clay) that counts only for majority.
  
• The Staff of Anu and Golden Ram are now slightly more common in Four and Six year games.
  
• Removed the chance for extra clay pits to appear in the Two year game auctions.
  
• Breeding Pens may now appear in the 2nd auction of Four year games.
  
• Goat Farms now cap out at 99 goats.
  

Controls

• Sumer now recognizes Nintendo Switch controllers!
  
• Taking over an AI will now show your control type.
  
• Tapping the fallthrough input very quickly now lets you fall through the floor.
  
• Slightly increased fallthrough input buffer time.
  
• Improved precision of landing while falling quickly.
  
• Can now control Credits using UP and DOWN.
  

General

• Various performance improvements.
  

Menu

• Added “Unjoin” control instructions to player homes on character select menu.
  
• Removed ability to pause while sun is setting at end of the day.
  
• Fixed a typo in the credits.
  

Visual

• Favor tablets now explode when Favor hits the score UI.
  
• UI discs for sleeping were remastered and are more noticeable and smooth.
  
• Favor tablets now scale correctly when hitting Year Update .
  
• Auction heads now jiggle when at max overbid.
  
• Improved fonts for character names.
  
• Widened background and added border to fix screen resolution issues.
  
• Fixed borders on bread icons to match others.
  
• Fixed font for “return to main menu” text on stats screen.
  
• Replaced down joystick icon with a clearer version.
  
• Added fix to screen resolution issue that could lead to a black screen under certain fullscreen conditions.
  
• Added a “saving” icon.
  
• Goat growth will no longer display when pausing.
  

Hello Sumerians,

We’re excited to announce that next week Studio Wumpus will exhibiting Sumer at a board game convention! We’ll be at PAX Unplugged in Philadelphia, PA from November 16th to 19th.

PAX Unplugged is brand new this year! The convention features the best of non-digital design and we’re honored to be sharing the next evolution of board game design with attendees.


To celebrate PAX Unplugged we’ll have a little prize for anyone who wins at a game of Sumer while at the convention. Play Sumer at Booth 653 and in the demo area for your chance to win a sticker to commemorate your victory!

New Characters!

You might notice that there are two unfamiliar faces in that image. Say hello to our new contenders for the throne of Sumer!


Even if you’re not making it out to Philadelphia, keep your ear to the ground in the coming week. We have an exciting announcement to share at PAX Unplugged!

Sumer: Early Access will also be getting an update with the newest additions to the roster of nobles so you can join the fun from your living room.

Enjoy the rest of your week!
Geoff, Studio Wumpus

Hello Sumerians,

We’re excited to announce that next week Studio Wumpus will exhibiting Sumer at a board game convention! We’ll be at PAX Unplugged in Philadelphia, PA from November 16th to 19th.

PAX Unplugged is brand new this year! The convention features the best of non-digital design and we’re honored to be sharing the next evolution of board game design with attendees.


To celebrate PAX Unplugged we’ll have a little prize for anyone who wins at a game of Sumer while at the convention. Play Sumer at Booth 653 and in the demo area for your chance to win a sticker to commemorate your victory!

New Characters!

You might notice that there are two unfamiliar faces in that image. Say hello to our new contenders for the throne of Sumer!


Even if you’re not making it out to Philadelphia, keep your ear to the ground in the coming week. We have an exciting announcement to share at PAX Unplugged!

Sumer: Early Access will also be getting an update with the newest additions to the roster of nobles so you can join the fun from your living room.

Enjoy the rest of your week!
Geoff, Studio Wumpus