And so another month has passed. I probably don’t have as much to tell you as usual since I have been super-busy in real life, but it is all for a good cause! I have been working towards improving my working environment – and also allowing for expanding the osu! team – by renting a small office. This takes quite a bit of paperwork in Japan (especially as a foreigner) so it was quite a celebration for me to actually succeed in this.

Still in the process of moving stuff and getting well setup, but afterwards I should be able to livestream a whole heap more. We actually have a live camera of the office which you can view here. Keep in mind it will only be set to public at some times. I’ll likely tweet about it if we’re doing something interesting.

As for things on the osu! front:

• The new update system is completed and mostly live. You can switch to it from the existing test build by clicking the little popup at the main menu.
• Due to this system going live, the old test build is now officially decommissioned (even though you can still use it for the time being).
• With this new system brings the ability to publish multiple update streams, including experimental ones (like an OpenGl only build which may be the future of osu!) for testing purposes. Look out for these in the near future!
• I also managed to get osu! to “install” and update from a single executable, removing the need for the “osume.exe” updater. The result is quite magical!
• Smoogipoo is beginning the rather huge rewrite of osu!mania to fix all the small issues that exist in the current implementation. He has made good progress on the key binding system and is working on skinning currently. The end result will be a new editor, a better working play mode and an overall better experience.
• The new osu! website has gone through another iteration and is being designed actively. All I can say for now is that it looks amazing; if you saw the “old” new design then this one is just going to blow your mind!
• I’ve spent a lot of my time fighting issues with infrastructure issues that are mostly not my fault and very hard to resolve. Things are still pretty stable, so I’d say I’m doing a good job even though you will never hear about it ;).
• We have begun restructuring the team to resemble how the modding environment will be further down the line. This should hugely streamline the ranking process even before the complete new system is implemented.
• The osu!idol karaoke contest is running again this year. Huge interest in this, so hurry if you want to take part in it!
• I’m making good progress on restoring the osu!store and a stock of tablets. Expect to see availability again in early November, all going well. At least in time for the holiday season!
• RBRat3 made a cool 3D version of the new osu! logo.
• I learned that osu! can help with hearing loss.
• Thanks to Rev3Games for an enjoyable trip along the history of the iNiS tapping series and the transition to osu!.

For those that missed it, I also answered quite a few questions in my previous post. Feel free to post more questions there if you have anything sensible to ask!