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Update v1.1.8:
Today we’re excited to announce the Inmate Induction update, adding several new features and improvements to The Escapists 2 to improve the experience for new and existing players alike. These improvements are based on feedback from all of you, collected from both the Steam forums, surveys and social media. Your feedback has always been very important to us, and we do hope these changes make the game even better for everyone!

Manual Saving
You can now toggle manual saves, if you want more control over when exactly the game saves. With manual saves, you simply walk over to your own bed to be prompted to save your game. This should allow you to try your daring escapes without risk of losing everything! Save settings can be toggled in the Help & Options menu.

Robinson To The Rescue
Wondering how exactly to start your career as an escapists? We’ve added Robinson to Center Perks 2.0, who’s the 2nd most knowledgeable escapist in the world – just behind Jimmy Locke, of course. Robinson will now appear in the game with a red exclamation mark above his head, which indicates that he has very special quests available for you. These new quests will teach you the very basics of perimeter escapes, including how to dig your way to freedom. If you’re unfamiliar with the benefits of using the prison’s payphones, Robinson will also make sure you’re in the know!

Beyond adding Robinson, we’ve also added a bunch of “signposts” in the prisons, where fellow inmates have dropped hints in various locations that could help pinpoint the best places to attempt your escapes from. Seek them out if you want some tips.

Improved Spawn Rates
If you’ve had troubles finding the items needed for your various escapes, you’ll be pleased to know that this update increases spawn rates for key quest items considerably. These items can now spawn in multiple locations at the same time, making it a lot easier to pull off that sweet, sweet escape!

Game Mode Indicators
We’ve improved the user interface to help make it easier to understand exactly how to play both local and online co-op the way you want to. This includes a clear description of the various online modes (Local, Private or Public), making it easier to understand exactly how to set up a game for just yourself and your friends. As a result, we’re hoping to only see Public games where the host intends for strangers to join the fun!

Progression Changes
We’ve changed the way new prisons unlock in The Escapists 2. Previously unlocking a new prison was tied to collected keys from unique escapes, and you used to have to complete most prisons to get access to the later content. Now you’ll instead have access to ALL the prisons as soon as you’ve completed three unique escapes, which will let you fully explore the game a whole lot faster!

We’ve also added a number of additional improvements and fixes, that you can find in the patch notes below.

Patch notes:
Improved item spawn rates based on player feedback.
Fixed an issue with one of the multiplayer doors on Dungeons and Duct Tape.
Fixed an issue with picking up makeshift ladders after placing them down.
Fixed an issue with vent shadows not appearing properly on Santa's Shakedown.
Fixed an issue with placing indoor tiles over the cutlery drawer item in the Prison Editor.