This patch contain a number of bugfixes that smooth out some of the rough edges introduced in the 3.0.0 update.

• Fixed boss Oleander's scrambled palette.
  
• Fixed boss Fred turning invisible during certain attacks during phase 3 of the Oleander boss fight.

• Fixed the "Death Allowed" option's "No" setting not preventing KO for Velvet's level 3.
  
• Fixed Oleander's level 3 causing a palette glitch on her opponent if the super KO'd while the "Death Allowed" option was set to "No".

• Fixed an issue causing characters to be vulnerable during ground techs.

• Fixed an issue with Arizona's level 3 where the cinematic would not engage off the second hit, and/or during certain OTG situations.

• Fixed Paprika sometimes losing her level 3 install at the start of a super jump.

• Re-fixed Fred burying with his 2[D]. We hoped we could have it bury on KO only but it has been happening during a match, so it's been disabled again.
  
• Fixed Fred's palette showing up as the default colors on the Lunamancy and Zombie palettes.
  
• Fixed a graphical glitch where Oleander's book would not come with her when turning around in the air during Study.

• Fixed Big Poppa turning invisible (but still being able to attack) if Pom was hit by another character's level 3.
  
• Fixed an issue causing the screen to turn black for the rest of the match if Pom's level 3 counter was triggered by a projectile towards the end of the counter window.

• Fixed an issue causing Shanty to get launched in the wrong direction and "fall out" of Arizona's level 1->2 if she was hit by it just after whiffing her level 3.

The 3.0.1 hotpatch contains only one fix:

• Salt earned prior to the 3.0 update has been readded to players' accounts.

That is all for today.

At long last, cinematic level 3 supers, a new universal mechanic and flagship feature of 3.0, has been released to the wild, completing the moveset for each character. They have admittedly taken a long time and great effort to produce, but they are finally here and we're excited to see how players will bring them to bear in battle.

A few points before we get started. Many important balance changes that clean things up from 2.0 and ease level 3s into the game have been introduced, but there aren't any ground-shattering character reimaginations like the move from 1.0 to 2.0. The goal here is to fine-tune upon what we feel is a mostly successful foundation, at least for now. We're interested to hear your thoughts.

Players are advised that this update is coming in *hot*. Much of the game’s backend has changed in the process of preparing for consoles and localization, so there will be some rough edges. We have a list of known issues at the end of the patch notes, and we aim to address them and provide further polish to the patch in the coming weeks.

Behold, the trailer:


In version 3.0, Shanty and all of her DLC content is now a part of the base game! We now feel that it is time to retire the DLC requirement and make her available to all owners of the base game.

The Shanty DLC listing on Steam will still be around but it no longer has a price. You don't need to have the DLC in your library to access Shanty content.

To those who purchased the Shanty DLC before this update, we thank you very much for your support of the project. Without your help, we could not have made it this far.

Some changes are coming to the way TFH is presented and priced on storefronts. After the Steam Summer Sale (ending July 7th), the price of the base game will increase from $14.99 USD to $19.99 USD. That means you have 1 month to grab the base game before the new price goes into effect, and we're even at a discount thanks to upcoming Steam sales!

When the price change goes live, we will be removing the Shadow and Zombie palette "shortcut" DLCs for sale. The palettes will remain unlockable via their in-game condition.

Further, backer-specific content like the Flair Kit and the "Tennis Shoes" palette set will not be unlockable on consoles. Steam players who already own them will still be able to show them off to console players via crossplay.

Our goal with these changes is to create one singular online space that brings the entire community together regardless of platform. By bundling existing DLC into the base game at this new price, we're presenting consistent, easy-to-navigate packages that help new players get up to speed.

When the digital version of the game becomes available for purchase on consoles, it will be at the new price. The deluxe retail edition includes both the base game and the upcoming Season 1 Pass.


So concludes the news. Without further ado, here are the patch notes for version 3.0.0!

• As this is a new major version, all casual ranks have been reset.
  
• The look of the title screen and main menu has been updated, featuring the 3.0 key art!
  
• Character command lists now have additional details on certain moves, and the All Characters command list has been expanded to provide a more complete picture of the universal mechanics.
  
• There is now a "Low Detail Effects" option under Video Options that should further help players on lower-powered hardware.
  
• In stage select, the Random (Day Only) choice is now a variant of Random (not an entirely separate "stage"), and is now the default option in that list.
  
• The credits have been updated to reflect all the new people who have contributed to the project since the last update!
  
• The placeholder entry for "Ranked Match" has been removed from the main menu, as we no longer have plans to develop ranked play for TFH.

Level 3 Supers

• Level 3 supers are now available for all characters!

General

• Throws are now active for 3 frames (up from 1).
  
• Hard knockdown animations for all characters now animate more smoothly.
  
• Removed an inconsistency that allowed some characters to cancel prejump into a grounded throw.

Metergain

• All characters now gain less meter overall from being hit. The amount varies per character due to different meter sizes and gameplan.
  
• It is no longer possible to gain meter post-KO using dead body combos or certain character abilities. For now this includes all basic attacks, Oleander metersteal abilities, and Oleander reading.

Cross Canter

• Cross Canter no longer causes a slowdown effect.
  
• Metergain now temporarily locks after using Cross Canter (you can still use meter though).

Pushblock

• Pushblock now carries diminishing returns the more times it is used in succession.

Rolling

• Rolls now stop movement at the end.
  
• Forward rolls travel (very) slightly less distance and take longer to reach their destination.
  
• Rolls now become vulnerable to strikes near the end. During this vulnerable period, the opponent can also defend themselves from attacks and throws, but cannot do any attacks themselves.

Bugfixes

• Finally fixed an ancient bug that caused multiple hits occurring on the same frame to all apply counterhit and first-hit damage bonuses, resulting in massive damage spikes. This most commonly occurred on Paprika's Picnic Surprise! combos.

Cosmetic

• Arizona's launcher now has a swipe effect.

Balance

• Magic Dash no longer causes a slowdown effect, and its ending position has been slightly adjusted to ensure it'll finish behind the opponent after a successful Rebound.

Bugfixes

• Fixed various issues causing Trample to heal the opponent instead of applying chip damage.
  
• Fixed an issue causing Trample to not do damage on hit.
  
• Fixed a rare issue causing Arizona's opponent to change position slightly while getting hit by Rebound.
  
• Fixed an issue where armoring through Arizona's Magic Counter attack with Magic Headbuck would cause the player using Counter to slide backwards at an alarming rate.

Cosmetic

• Fixed a small graphical glitch in Ice Cyclone's special FX.

Bugfixes

• Fixed an input leniency issue on Velvet's Magic specials.
  
• Fixed jC not adding any JD on hits past the first.

Bugfixes

• Fixed super trades with another Paprika giving advantage to the P2 slot.
  
• Fixed some instances of Picnic Surprise! not spawning gifts.
  
• Fixed Paprika's "emerging" from the basket in the wrong place while doing Picnic Surprise! during another Paprika's Smother.
  
• Fixed various issues with gifts being improperly layered under characters, making them impossible to see.
  
• Kiss! now gains the amount of meter she was previously gaining from regular grab.

Cosmetic

• Oleander has a new palette: "Lunamancy", Amaron's prize palette for winning Grand Stampede 2021.

Balance

• Fred's timer has been reduced by 5 seconds.
  
• All of Oleander's meter stealing abilities (except for normal Chapter Trap and Magic Teleport) now grant and steal less meter earlier on, but get closer to (or potentially exceed) previous values as the opponent approaches 3 stocks of meter.
  
  • The amount the opponent loses and the amount Oleander gains is now much more strictly based on percentages rather than any raw values, so characters with different underlying bar sizes no longer affect the equation.
• Magic Teleport now gains Oleander less meter.

Balance

• Bitey's active frames have been reduced by half.

Bugfixes

• Fixed Big Papa not spawning in properly if summoned out of a second Stampede! while he's already attacking from the first.

Cosmetic

• Tianhuo has a new palette: "River Dancer".

Bugfixes

• Fixed an input leniency issue on Tianhuo's Magic specials.
  
• Fixed Volcanic Bash's first-hit scaling not extending to the second hit during Ran Shao Feng.

Cosmetic

• Shanty has 2 new palettes: "Shakalaka Bam" and "Dark Prince".

Balance

• Magic no longer drains while Shanty is moving to or between walls during Wallcling, giving players more Magic to use when Shanty is actually controllable.
  
• Reduced knockback height on Broadside (Run B). This should reduce the amount of times it can combo into itself in the corner.
  
• Jump C now causes less blockstun and takes 1 frame longer to hit.
  
• Shanty can now block while landing from Helm.
  
• Breaker has been sped up, is safer on block, and has a better hurtbox on the first active frame.

Bugfixes

• Fixed various issues that caused camera breaks during Wallcling combos, or when two Shantys changed walls at the same time.
  
• Fixed Shanty not being in the right position if hit by Arizona's Rebound on the same frame that she slid to the ground from a Wallcling.
  
• Fixed an inconsistency in facing while wall sliding onto a waking up opponent depending on whether Shanty is P1 or P2.

Bugfixes

• Fixed the bear turning into a cow due to a nonexistent air throw state being called.
  
• Fixed the hawk turning into a wolf during Quick Recovery (ground teching).

Gameplay

• Some of Tianhuo's SKD combos have better frame advantage than intended.
  
• Shanty’s level 3 may give some inconsistent damage values.
  
• Level 3 background gradients may fluctuate at inappropriate times (especially on Paprika).
  
• Arizona's level 3 cinematic will not trigger off an OTG.
  
• Some objects remain onscreen during level 3 cinematics.
  
• Some Oleander palettes have scrambled/incorrect colors during certain animations.
  
• Some of Fred is invisible during phase 3 of the Oleander boss fight in Story Mode (challenge mode activated).
  
• Fred’s 2D grab may cause bury at low health rather than KO, this is unintentional.
  
• Level 3 supers are not available in Story Mode yet.

Technical

• Pixel Lobby server hosting on Linux for 3.0 is not yet available.
  
• Pixel Lobby salt will appear to be set as 0 when players first log in on this update. It's not gone, just in a different place. We'll restore it in a future hotpatch.
  
• Shadow Palette unlocks in the Salt Mines are temporarily disabled due to a permissions issue with Steam.
  
• Lobby colors may not function properly on the Pixel Lobby server browser.
  
• “Winner Stays” mode is not functioning properly for Classic Lobbies and has been temporarily disabled.
  
• Attempting to use some online features when Steam is unavailable may softlock the game (high priority bug we're looking into).
  
• The Backer Flair Kit banner displays are functioning inconsistently. Players (and/or opponents) may not appear as a backer on some screens.
  
• Discord Rich Presence invites are currently (and temporarily) inoperational due to incompatibilities with cross-platform console code.
  
• On Mac (and sometimes Linux), the OS will notify you that the game quit unexpectedly even though you quit normally. For those interested in the technical reason, it's a leftover database that isn't properly clearing itself before it loses resources and dies. The bug does not cause any real issues outside of being annoying.
  
• Due to localization prep, some text formerly presented in ALLCAPS is temporarily not so.
  
• The new "Low Detail Effects" option is not yet part of the graphical presets and will have to be set independently for now.

Welcome to Development Update #7, where we provide the latest news on TFH directly from the developers! We're debuting our *new* key art and 7-star logo (we think Shanty has earned it by now), and there is a positively huge series of things to announce. Strap in, and let's kick this off.

Yes. Them's Fightin' Herds is coming to consoles this Fall on five platforms: Switch, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, and Xbox One. There will be crossplay between each of them (and also Steam), all with rollback netcode (still GGPO).

In addition to the digital version, there will be a physical version on each platform! Details on availability to come.

You'll be able to preorder the console releases from our website as retail listings go up. We'll make announcements as options become available.

Check out the new trailer below!



While not exactly new news, we wanted to confirm that TFH will be localized for additional languages for the console release. We will announce the supported languages in a future post.

As stated in our last Development Update, subtitles will be added to versus mode intros and outros so more players can understand and enjoy the smack-talking.

Version 3.0, the next major update for TFH, introduces a new gameplay mechanic: level 3 supers. Level 3s are cinematic supers that burn a max-charged meter to unleash your fighter's true potential. Alongside the update comes fresh balance changes addressing several universal mechanics including (but not limited to) the metergain system, Cross Canter, and tech rolling.

We will have more news to share about version 3.0 during our featurette at the PC Gaming Show on June 12th. Check their site for details on how to watch. You won't want to miss it.

Most of the development team will be attending Combo Breaker this weekend from May 27-29 in Chicago, IL. Our Top 12 will be streamed Sunday starting at 10:30am CT on the lowkick esports Twitch channel. We are honored to be included as a main game!

There will be a prize pool bonus of $2,000, placing the stakes at record highs for competitive TFH, and this is only the beginning!

It's going to be an incredible weekend of fighting game awesomeness. Be sure to check out the CB program guide to find other fantastic sets to watch. For those attending, we'll see you there soon! Safe travels.

Production on the physical game copy, soundtrack, and movelist postcards had been stalled since initially revealing the mockups, but now that we’re a part of Modus we've gained the logistical power to resume manufacturing. Physical rewards are coming.

Physical reward earners: please make sure your shipping address is up to date by checking BackerKit. You've got some time still, but things could accelerate soon! We'll provide time estimates when we're further along in the process.

In our last Development Update we stated that "barring any unfortunate circumstances" we'd be able to finish all main Story Mode chapters before the end of 2022. Story Mode production is continuing along, but there have been circumstances.

We no longer think it's possible to make the goal of finishing the entire thing before the year is over while maintaining the bar of quality. Working on console ports and new localization systems demanded more time from our engineers and writers than we thought. Once they're complete, we can make story mode our priority again.

Chapter 2, starring Velvet, is still in ze works. When we have more to share, you'll be the first to know.

We are excited for the future of TFH and can't wait to celebrate with you this weekend at Combo Breaker. This is only part 1 of our news series! There will be more things to share in the coming weeks. See you then, and have a great weekend.

Aaron Stavely
Development Director, Mane6 Dev Team

Our first Lunar New Year event has come to a close. All Pixel Lobby maps have been reverted to their normal appearance, and the new seasonal items catalog has gone in with the regular shop rotation.

Thanks to everyone who played during the event! We've got some additional fixes shipping with this patch. Here goes:

• Added some cosmetic improvements.
  
• Added additional background characters!
  
• Is now no longer Tian's default stage.
  
• Now has a proper 2D version.

• Fixed "Random (Day Only)" giving night stages (broke in version 2.3.0).

Introducing our first Lunar New Year celebration update! In this patch we're releasing a variant of Tianhuo's stage called Spring Festival. For the Pixel Lobby, new seasonal accessories are available and each map has been decorated.

Because we focused most of our efforts on the stage, there's a lighter set of accessories and decorations compared to previous events.

The new accessory set will be available at Cap 'n Cash's until the event ends on Feb 3rd. Aftwards, the items go in with the regular rotation. The stage variant is unlocked for everyone forever!

In our recent new publisher announcement we said we'd be introducing new character palettes (including Amaron's custom palette earned from Grand Stampede) along with some codefixes, but we decided it would be safer to postpone their release until after we're back from Frosty Faustings this weekend.

Here's what is included in this release:

• The Modus logo has been added to the opening credits. Say hello to our new publisher! Check out their website here.

• Lunar New Year 2022 accessory set is now available.
  
• Fixed getting the Shanty image when unlocking a shadow palette for Paprika.
  
• Refixed a previously fixed but then broken secret room in Velvet's lobby.

• New Tianhuo Stage Variant: Spring Festival. This stage variant is added as a free update and is instantly unlocked for all. For the duration of the event it will be the default Tianhuo stage, afterwards it can be found by scrolling down from Huoshan Capital on stage select.
  
  • Known Issue: The Spring Festival variant for Tianhuo's stage currently doesn't work with the 2D stages option enabled. This will be rectified in a future patch.

Developer Notes
For the longest time, Tianhuo was the only member of the original roster that did not have a stage variant (example: night or raining) so we've wanted to do something special for her for a while.

Originally it was just going to be a lighting adjustment and decorating spree on Huoshan, but we decided to take advantage of our new production capacity right away and build an entirely new stage from scratch!

Though Spring Festival has a new appearance, it uses the same Dynamic Music System collection as Tianhuo's regular stage.[/list]

Mane6 (that's us), the development team behind Them's Fightin' Herds, has been acquired by publisher Modus Games!

It means that our team is growing. We're still us, but now we have "real jobs". Being a part of Modus makes it possible for us to fulfill our complete uncompromised vision for TFH and continue to projects beyond.

Practically speaking, it takes a lot of resources to make a successful video game. With all the additional help we're getting, we'll be filling out the roster, releasing Story Mode chapters faster, at looking at ways to expand to more platforms. TFH is about to reach new heights.


We're expanding the roster, and now that we have more than one combat dev we can develop new characters and Story Mode chapters simultaneously. Who are the new characters? What species? When are they releasing? How to get them? We'll be sharing more information about specifics in the coming months.

Barring any unfortunate circumstances we are confident that we can finish all main chapters (starring each member of the base roster plus a “final” chapter) before the end of 2022, still released as free updates.

Console ports are something we're still very interested in doing, and with the help of our new partners at Modus it's more likely to happen than ever. We'll be evaluating the possibility of extending to other platforms and will announce any developments.

We are making arrangements to localize TFH so we can expand to a truly international playerbase. The translations will be text only (we currently do not have plans to localize the voice acting). Subtitles will eventually be added to infight dialogue so the English voice acting can be understood by a global audience.


We’ve kept certain reward tiers (like physical rewards) in limbo for a long time. Now that we’re a part of Modus, we finally have the logistical power to get the rest of the crowdfund rewards fulfilled. The wait is coming to an end.

Physical reward earners, if you need to change your mailing address, head over to our BackerKit ASAP! It'll still be a few weeks at least before anything ships, but the wheels are turning!

To celebrate the new year, we’ll be releasing an alternate version of Tianhuo’s stage (called Spring Festival) at the start of Steam's Lunar New Year event, from Jan 27 to Feb 3. The alternate stage will be instantly unlocked as a free update.

As for the Pixel Lobby, Cap 'n Cash have cooked up a mini set of seasonal accessories which will be stocked in the shop until the Lunar New Year event ends. Afterwards, they'll go in with the regular rotation.

The Lunar New Year update will also contain a few new character palettes and some small codefixes. Please enjoy!

Level 3's have been a long-awaited feature and our new talent will be helping us across the finish line. We've shown off (much) earlier versions of them before and they've come a long way since. The wait will be worth it. Then, we start working on new characters.

Level 3's and a new set of balance adjustments will arrive in game version 3.0, release date to be announced.

Chapter 2 (starring Velvet) is in production and the extra Modus resources will help us accelerate development. We’re also working on improvements to Story Mode in general such as smoother difficulty curves, a HUD update, more enemy variation, and reworked health mechanics.

Chapter 2 will be released in the next major update after version 3.0.

Pandemic notwithstanding, Mane6 wants to attend more offline events in 2022. The circumstances are always changing and we're playing it by ear right now, but however things shake out we want to make the competitive scene bigger this year.

Reminder that Mane6 will be attending Frosty Faustings from Jan 28-29. Top 8 will be streamed on Saturday at 11am CST on Twitch (we'll provide the link when we're closer to the date).


It’s been a wild ride, and we're looking forward to great things in 2022. Thank you all for believing in us! The stampede cometh!

Aaron Stavely, Mane6 Dev Team

'Tis the season! From now until Jan 5th, we're running our annual Winter Holiday Event in the Pixel Lobby.

There are new seasonal-themed accessories available, and during the event they'll be the focus of Cap 'n Cash's shop rotation. Afterwards they'll go in with the regular bunch, so get 'em while they're fresh!

In addition, all Pixel Lobbies have been decorated with seasonal flair, a first for Hallowed Grove (Oleander's lobby). It sure is snowy in there; better bundle up.

And of course, we're in Steam's Winter Sale. Them's Fightin' Herds will be 40% off on Steam during the length of the event!

Throughout 2021 we've achieved a number of important milestones in the project. We saw the release of our 2.0 update and Shanty, the HD update, many quality of life changes, our actual first run as an official game in EVO, our first official online tournament circuit (STC/Grand Stampede), the completion of our Velvet statuette, and more.

Though we've been a bit quiet the last few months we've been working on something big, and we can't wait to share the news with you next year. The development team is going on a much-deserved break until we kick things off in 2022 with an appearance at MAGFest, then later in January at Frosty Faustings. If you're attending, we'll see you there.

We at Mane6 would like to thank each and every one of our players for being a part of our slice of the world for however long. Thanks for helping us make 2021 that much brighter, and we'll see you in 2022!

Much Love,

- Mane6 Dev Team

The Zombie Palette Pack DLC is now available for purchase! This pack instantly unlocks Zombie palettes for each character, current and future.

Purchase link:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1839170/Thems_Fightin_Herds__Zombie_Palette_Pack/

This palette set was originally introduced as an unlockable for playing overworld chest matches in the Pixel Lobby during the 2021 Halloween event. The ingame unlock condition is no longer available, but may return in future seasons.

Also in this patch: since rolling back from the Halloween event, there was a bug in the shop where the three eyeball variants stuck around for each rotation, eating all the rare items before anyone could buy them.

Cashmere has banished the pests to the shadow realm, restoring the shop to normal behavior. Sorry about that!

Meanwhile, the holiday event is right around the corner... see you again then!

After nearly four years, our publishing partnership with Humble Games has come to an end.

Since late 2017, Mane6 and Humble have worked together to support the development of Them’s Fightin’ Herds through Early Access into our 1.0 and 2.0 releases. We are grateful to the team at Humble for all their efforts in helping us reach this point, and we wish them all the best going forward.

We at Mane6 retain the rights to the game and we are very excited about the future of Them’s Fightin’ Herds. We’ll have more to share on our upcoming plans soon.

Stay tuned.

Aaron Stavely

President, Mane6