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25/02/23 TSxD's next map is out now! Autumn is an absolute top-tier release, putting a seasonal spin on elements combined from several tilesets, naturally using appropriate color palettes and custom music. Be on the lookout for several really unique warps that are very much worth checking out. Enjoy, and feel free to share your impressions on Discord.

1/02/23 The 2022 level of the year winners are Mountain Fortress, originally started by Proximity and finished by Renganathan, and Fizik's eponymous Fizik Who 5, sharing the #1 spot with one third of the votes each. Pejti's Get the Coin completes the podium with a very respectable 20%. Congratulations to the designers! As always, we are looking forward to another year of custom levels, and there is in fact already one new map in 2023, namely Spider-Claw by Henrique Lorenzi.

3/01/23 Happy new year! Until the end of January, you can cast your votes for the best custom level of 2022 on Discord. Naturally, be sure to check out all nominated maps first, which should be quicker than usual with only five contenders this time around. So, without further ado, head to everyone's favorite section on TCR, and have fun!

30/12/22 As the co-founder of the Claw Recluse, Zuczek certainly needs no introduction in the Claw community, though its newer members may not have had a chance to interact with him personally on the forums and multiplayer networks of old. Custom level aficionados will also be well acquainted with his excellent maps, which thus far have used every single tileset from the base game -- except one. Today, we are publishing that final Puerto Lobos level, the aptly titled Zuczek's (Not) Last Word, in its current, unfinished form.

To be clear, it is neither a triumphant comeback, nor a last goodbye. Rather, consider this a unique contest invitation for all Claw level designers: throughout 2023, complete Zuczek's work however you see fit, and at the end of next year, he will declare the winner(s) to be published here on TCR as collaborative maps. Visit our Discord server for details.

1/12/22 For Steam Deck owners, and everyone else trying to play Claw on Linux, here is the recently updated, comprehensive guide written by clawconut. It actually includes 4 different approaches (involving Bottles, Heroic Games Launcher, Lutris, and Steam) as well as covers common issues with frame rate and playback of MIDI music.

05/11/22 A long-awaited milestone in Claw speedruns was reached today: Simpson1225 became the first to complete the game in under 40 minutes, or 39:41.94 to be exact. Congratulations!

31/10/22 Actually, make it two new maps with Seasons in the Abyss, also created by Andokai Camanis. Meanwhile, Pappy hosted Zax37 in a new episode of 25th Anniversary Claw Talks, discussing the CrazyHook mod and ClawJS, among others. Enjoy!

23/10/22 Finally, a new map in the Custom Levels section: Old Town is the second one by Andokai Camanis. Based on the seldom considered Puerto Lobos tileset, in many ways it is a throwback to the old days of Claw level design, worth playing in 1997 and 2022 alike.

13/10/22 Despite the rather unassuming v1.1 moniker, the freshly updated version of wisztom's excellent 2019 level Nothing There brings quite the list of changes. Tricky jumps and conveyor belts have been reworked, and there are improvements to artillery sections. Last but not least, the map now features a save system that you might already know from the author's most recent and probably best level to date, Raid on the Spanish Armada.

10/10/22 September may be behind us, but the celebration of Claw's 25th anniversary is far from over. In the first video of a planned series, Pappy discusses the game with a very special guest: Kevin Lambert (aka Sylvermyst), ex-Monolith developer and game designer on Claw. Of course, being the legendary speedrunner that he is, Pappy manages to interview his guest while attempting some runs. Here is the YouTube playlist for 25th Anniversary Claw Talks.

23/09/22 RetroDeath has published an excellent review of Claw on YouTube, including what might very well be the first ever unboxing video of the game. The reviewer also provides some historical context, goes over the setup process on modern PCs, and even discusses multiplayer. Overall, it is easily worth watching, and you can do so here.

5/09/22 As of today, Claw is one quarter of a century old! On that note, here is to the original developers, community members past and present, and friends we made along the way. Cheers -- and now go play some custom levels, watch a speedrun, or just drop by our Discord server to celebrate the 25th anniversary and reminisce about the past.

21/04/22 Remember Pappy's damageless playthrough back in January? How about an even more amazing feat by RED DEVIL, who managed the same in a single, unsegmented run, without retrying levels? Oh, and did I mention it took less than 2 hours? Just watch.

In other news, the fan art gallery received a long overdue update with recent works by TaurusII, as did the Custom Levels section, where dozens of links to newly recorded videos were added, courtesy of Renganathan, Baron FQ and SugheroGame. Be sure to visit and subscribe to their channels, as they have been doing amazing work for the community.

24/03/22 Some excellent new custom levels, including Baron FQ's debut Dark Greens and Fizik Who 5, a huge Township-based map by Fizik. Somewhat against current trends, neither uses the CrazyHook mod, but certainly not to any detriment to design or playability. Both are highly recommended, so enjoy and feel free to share your feedback on Discord.

Speaking of CrazyHook, we have updated the dgVoodoo tool bundled with the mod to its latest version, which should solve occasionally reported issues with the background layer in some levels. Thanks to Foxhood for pointing out the fix.

13/02/22 Simpson1225 improved his own recent speedrun record by another 12 seconds today. Coincidentally, the 40 minutes mark is now also about 12 seconds away.

8/02/22 Proximity's last level to date, Mountain Fortress, remained unfinished for more than a decade, but now received a full release thanks to a collaboration with Renganathan.

1/02/22 The 2021 level of the year vote is over, with Renganathan's latest and greatest Invasion of Lumberjacks securing a rather convincing win. On a side note, the designer has been also very active on his YouTube channel, posting perfect score playthroughs for many classics such as UnderSeaWorld and Encounter in the Deep. Our congratulations and thanks for the exceptional contribution to the Claw community.

Things are not slowing down in 2022, as January saw two new releases: MaximTGMX's full version of Birthday, and another outside the box idea from Pejti, the multiplayer-only map Get the Coin where 2 to 9 players compete to find treasure before the opponents do.

24/01/22 We have a new speedrun champion: yesterday, Simpson1225 broke Pappy's previous record by no less than 34 seconds, dethroning him for the first time in years. The entire run is available on YouTube.

Meanwhile, AndokaiCamanis had another successful attempt at a 100% treasure speedrun, and significantly reduced his time to just over 4 hours. Watch it here.

6/01/22 In what might well be the single most impressive Claw achievement ever, Pappy has pulled off a damageless run of the entire game. Damageless. Claw. Playthrough. Let that sink in for a moment. Quite a way to start 2022, eh?

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