Hello, Liam here.

This update is ONLY for the championship_series branch, to be used with the upcoming Skullgirls Championship Series tournament happening tomorrow (Saturday, April 17th) at 4PM PT

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Note, this update contains NO gameplay balance changes.

• "BETA" text from the top of the screen has been removed in this build, even when in the Beta version of the game.

• Updated Annie with all of her latest VFX and audio improvements from 3.1.16. This includes Re Entry, JMK, and Crescent Cut.

(Build version 3.1.15.1)

Hello, Liam here.

The bulk of this update is about improving Annie's visual effects and presentation on some of her moves.

As a separate reminder, the sign-ups for the first event for the Skullgirls Championship Series close in less than 4 hours. If you still haven't signed-up (for FREE) for a shot at this event's prize pool - get on it!



REGISTRATION & INFORMATION:
https://smash.gg/tournament/spring-blockbuster-skullgirls-championship-series

Just looking to spectate? Make sure to tune in April 16th for the qualifiers on https://www.twitch.tv/skullgirlsgg, and watch for updates on https://twitter.com/skullgirlsgg.

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• Fully overhauled the visuals, audio, and presentation of Annie's "Re Entry" special move.
  
• Brightened Crescent Cut's visuals.
  
• Adjusted and brightened jMK's visuals.
  
• Adjusted sf+HP's hitbox to more closely match the art. This was a slight hitbox reduction.

• Robo-Fortune's sHK can now cancel into a jump that chases after the opponent when they hit the wall. Hold up or up forward after the hit to perform it. This requires and spends one of her heads.
  
  (... For context, this was meant to be Robo-Fortune's new universal overhead option that allows for combos after her loss of vastly superior "IDJC" overheads originally in the first beta update, which I know some players are sad about her losing... Since the work for this was already done months ago, and enough people have been asking us about it, we're going to try it for at least one patch. This is still WIP and very experimental, so don't get too attached to it!)

(Build version 3.1.16)

Hello, Liam here.

This update is actually TWO updates for the (free) price of one. Wow!

The first update, v3.1.14, is now live in the beta version of Skullgirls that you've been playing with so far. It contains ongoing balance changes for some of Friday's new additions.

The second update, v3.1.15, is now live in the championship_series branch. Per community feedback, this is the version of the game that will be used for the upcoming Skullgirls Championship Series qualifiers on April 16th, and the main event on April 24th.

You can access it by right clicking "Skullgirls 2nd Encore", then going to Properties... then Betas, then selecting it from the drop down.



Note: The championship series will be held in the "Annie Early Access" version in the championship_series Beta branch, which means Annie will be available for tournament play. Make sure the version number on the lower right of the title screen says 3.1.15 - that means you're in the right place!

If you still haven't gotten around to registering yet (it's FREE!) for a shot at this event's prize pool of $2,500, get in quick - sign ups for the first event close in 3 days! With a total series prize pool of $17,500, the sooner you start competing, the better your chances at making it into the final Skullgirls 2021 Championship event.

REGISTRATION & INFORMATION:
https://smash.gg/tournament/spring-blockbuster-skullgirls-championship-series/details

Now then, on to the update notes...

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• Adjusted Annie's North Knuckle Slam for strengths M and H against Big Band so that all hits of Sagan Beam connect afterwards.
  
• Adjusted Annie's Pillar of Creation knockup height and delay on the second hit.
  
• When Valentine performs Counter Venom as a DHC, she always delivers the level 1 strength of the loaded Vial Hazard instead of the currently loaded strength.

• Adjusted Annie's North Knuckle Slam for strengths M and H against Big Band so that all hits of Sagan Beam connect afterwards.
  
• Adjusted Annie's Pillar of Creation knockup height and delay on the second hit.
  
  The following changes need more time to be tested before they're viable for tournament play, so they are reverted for the Championship Series build only.
  
  
• Reverted Beowulf to his retail (not beta) version.
  
• Reverted Valentine to her retail (not beta) version.
  
• Annie's Pillar of Creation no longer drains the opponent's meter.

Hello, Liam here.

This is a small update that focuses on fixing a few bugs and issues.

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• Fixed an issue where Annie could DHC out of Pillar of Creation before the projectile spawned.
  
• Fixed an issue where Beowulf's newly added double snap crowd sounds would trigger on Ms. Fortune's head.
  
• Beowulf's EX Chair Recall special does not break armor anymore.
  
• Fixed an issue where Beowulf maintained two hype when performing a double snap.
  
• Fixed an issue where EX Chair Recall would cancel assist actions.
  
• Fixed an issue where sHK would not build 1/3 hype when staggering the opponent unless it was the first sHK used in a combo.
  
• Fixed an issue where Big Band's level 5 wasn't wall bouncing opponents correctly, even if it hit the point character.
  
• Fixed an issue where Valentine could use Counter Venom in the wrong direction as a DHC.

(Build version 3.1.13)

Hello, Liam here.

This update focuses primarily on Annie and Beowulf, and has some other adjustments along with it.

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Pillar of Creation has been updated with new visuals, and has received substantial changes to feel more like a proper level 2 with new utility that isn't just about raw damage.

• Now hits the opponent twice, holding the opponent in place for a much longer time allowing for full conversions from anywhere on the screen.
  
• Now deals less damage.
  
• Adjusted hitboxes to hit higher up.
  
• Now has hitstop until the active frame on point only, preventing the opponent from using a reversal to escape if they were in the middle of something. You can block before it hits as long as you weren't performing an action.
  
• The second hit from Pillar of Creation will drain 1 meter from the opponent if it hits the point character. This value is halved when used as a DHC.

North Knuckle's follow up slam has also received some big changes to make it feel more in line with what players expect out of a punching special move. New properties for each strength have been added, and a Super Cancel window has been added. All versions still build Undizzy on the Slam follow up, even as an assist.

• L version keeps the opponent close, allowing for confirms. Deals low damage. Safe on block.
  
• M version behaves like the previous version of North Knuckle's Slam. Deals less damage than H.
  
• H version is now a wall splat.
  ... (This brings an entirely new type of conversion assist to the table for team building. It can help you convert off almost all projectiles (Beams, Dead Cross, Napalm Shot, Bombs, etc) with ease, build midscreen resources (Robo heads, midscreen Vial Hazard → TK Bypass...), and just generally adds great damage. This assist may be toned down in the future, but for now it's the full package.)

Other changes...

• Adjusted sMP hitbox slightly downwards to hit all characters OTG.
  
• During Star Power, jHK's star will only ground bounce the opponent up once per combo.
  ... (This only triggers if the blade touches the opponent, so you can still get a second ground bounce from a stray jHK star confirm.)
  
• Fixed a bug where Sagan Beam would pull Peacock's Lonesome Lenny the wrong direction towards Annie if Lenny was facing the same direction as Annie.
  
• Reduced recovery of cMP and tuned hitstun and blockstun now that it is not her stagger button. Still -2 on hit. It's now -5 on block, previously was -6.
  
• Slightly extended Gravity Collapse DHC window.
  
• Updated attack FX colors on Annie palettes 18, 27, 28, and 29.
  
• Fire themed palettes (8, 17, and 28) light the opponent on fire (instead of creating sparkles) when hitting with her normally purple galaxy style attacks.
  
• Added sounds to Gravity Collapse.
  
• Tuned FX stars spawned from jLK.
  
• Annie builds meter during Star Power if her assist is caught in a double snap, instead of losing meter.
  ... (This is required, or else the optimal thing to do is the longest double snap combo imaginable to drain her meter to zero.)
  
• Greatly reduced hitstop on block for Destruction Pillar.
  
• Adjusted Annie's OTG hurtbox to prevent her from falling out of some combos, like Squigly's Throw → Silver Chord.
  
• Dash start up speed (before Sagan's jets are active) slightly reduced.
  
• Adjusted Annie's position when hit with knockback style attacks to prevent some Annie specific combo drops.
  
• jHP stars during Star Power last for 3 less frames before fizzling out and losing their hurtbox. Stars from jHP and sHP have had their blockstun reduced by 7F and hitstop reduced by 2F.

Beowulf has received changes that aim to do the following:

• Provide more consistent hype gain per combo.
  
• Open up new ways to spend hype.
  
• Narrow the gap in team effectiveness between picking resource building assists that revolve around taunt, and those that don't.

I expect Beowulf will require further tuning after the dust settles.

• Fixed a bug where moves that spent more than one hype would display the wrong color flash on Beowulf.
  
• Entering grab stance in the middle of a combo will advance the combo stage to at least combo stage 3 and begin building Undizzy. Grab stance combo starters (Throw, Chairless sHP, Wulfshoot, etc) still start at combo stage 2.
  
• Beowulf's taunt effect has changed. It now buffs his next non-ex grab stance finisher to build 3 hype immediately if he has less than 3 hype, even if he has already used an ex move in the same combo. It will also build 1 hype if he has less than 1 hype. Taunt recovery reduced by 17F.
  
• Added EX Chair Pickup for 3 hype, (Down, Down + KK) which pulls the chair towards Beowulf and delivers a hit if opponents happen to be the in way. Beowulf can hold K to continue the stance, catching The Hurting when it arrives, which builds 1 hype.
  
• Added Sound Stage 15 to the list of stages that support Beowulf's crowd cheering.
  
• On stages which have the crowd and audience present (NMO Arena, Innsmouth, Sound Stage, etc), the crowd will now yell along with Beowulf's hits during double snap combos that he starts. The crowd will go crazy if Beowulf finishes it, and be disappointed if he drops it.
  ... (I miss seeing all of you at offline events and screaming screaming "AY AY... AY!" along with you all during double snap combos, so this will do for now... ;_;)
  
• Added a version of EX Blitzer, as an experiment. Press KK or PP during Wulf Blitzer to spend 1 hype to perform another normal Wulf Blitzer. With 3 hype, you can do up to 6 Blitzers. This EX version ignores the blockstun reduction rule that usually comes with using the last Blitzer, so Forward, Forward, Forward, EX + Down will still be -2. EX Blitzer can also be used 5 frames earlier from the previous Blitzer compared to the non-EX version.
  
• Gigantic Arm min scaling increased to 45%, from 27.5%.
  
• Mic Drop (hold sMP) now builds 1/3 hype once per combo, up from 1/4.
  
• When sHK staggers the opponent, it builds 1/3 hype once per combo.
  ... (Beowulf can now build 2/3 hype every confirm, greatly increasing hype gain.)

• Peacock's "The Hole Idea" (H) behaviour has been reverted back to the retail version. She can teleport behind the opponent after her assist has touched the floor again.
  
• Bang! (M) recovery has been greatly reduced, but still has more recovery than retail. Blockstun has been reduced. Now -16 on block, but with much faster recovery on whiff and will feel less sluggish.
  
• Bang! (M) knockback distance reverted to retail values, allowing corner wall bounce confirms from the same distance.
  
• Peacock has received significant combo damage reductions via reduced damage on her normals. She now deals average combo damage (relative to the cast) using her previously optimized midscreen and corner combos. All of her zoning damage and zoning chip damage tools are the same as before.
  
• All versions of Shadow Of Impending Doom now scale to 60%, previously 80%.

• Reverted all Theonite Beam hitbox sizes back to their retail versions.
  
• Air L Theonite Beam during Systemic Circuit Breaker knocks grounded opponents slightly higher and closer towards her.
  
• Fixed a bug where Air L Theonite Beam in Circuit Breaker against grounded opponents wasn't activating her once per combo beam rules.
  
• Ground L Theonite Beam in Circuit Breaker pulls opponents closer to her the closer she is to them. From far distances, it will push the opponent away instead.
  
• Circuit Breaker beam damage reduced from 1100 to 1000.
  
• Robo-Fortune can double jump again during the first two frames of her jump, but all air normals will hit mid for that jump after.
  
• Warranty Extension damage is all non recoverable. Damage increased from 750 → 1000. Timer extension reduced from 6s → 5s.
  ... (In light of the recent changes that made every Circuit Breaker timer second longer than a normal human second, time added from Warranty Extension even at 5 seconds is still even longer than time added previously at 6 seconds. 450 frames [current] vs 432 frames [first version])

• Level 5 will only wall bounce characters if it successfully hits the the point character.
  
• Fixed a bug where taunted Tympany Drive was more safe on block than expected. The final hit of Tympany on BLOCK now properly applies hitstop on himself, keeping the frame data the same as the non taunted version.

• Follow up hits from jLP are no longer buffered, reverting them back to the way they were in retail instead of being buffered. The first follow up hit on jLP is still buffered a bit, but not as much as before.

• Sekhmet's Backflip health cost increased from 600 → 800.

• Fixed a bug where Filia could button dash directly from a low to the ground air dash when using the new lenient button dash addition.

• Fiber Upper's hitboxes were ever so slightly extended forward around opponent head height to hit standing Annie and Cerebella during combos.
  
• Fixed a bug where some moves had one extra frame of unintended recovery when they ended. Applies to sHK, Cat Call, and Cat Scratch.

• Squigly Battle Opera hits function as they do in retail now, and the previous changes have been reverted.
  ... (Making Squigly Battle Opera use the new logic without removing any of the old SBO conversions that players were using earlier isn't possible, so we're erring on the side of not breaking anything people are used to.)

• Can now DHC into Counter Venom if she has Vial Hazard loaded. This DHC version has different properties then when used on point. It has increased recovery on block, it is not invincible on block or plus on block obviously, it deals less damage, and it doesn't automatically upgrade her loaded Vial Hazard to level 3.

• Reduced intensity of white palette flash on characters when recovering from hitstun.
  
• Removed green faint tint when characters exit a Reaction Shot (pushblock) with blockstun remaining. This puts us back to the retail behaviour.

(Build version 3.1.12)

Hello, Liam here.

This update reverts the previous beta mode patch, rolling back to v.3.1.10.

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• Reverted VO lines back to what they were previously.

(Build version 3.1.10)

Hello, Liam here.

This update focuses on improving the game immensely. As such, we're rolling out some new changes.

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• Adjusted Annie's VO for a more pleasing gameplay experience.

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(Version 3.1.11)

Hello, Liam here.

This small update focuses on Annie's VFX and a small Peacock adjustment.

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• Fixed a bug where North Knuckle's new VFX could get stuck on Annie in some instances.
  
• Added in some new VFX when certain purple "galaxy" attacks connect with the opponent, and made some small tweaks to Destruction Pillar VFX.

• Removed new assist lock out from last patch while George from "George's Day Out" is active.

(Build version 3.1.10)

Hello, Liam here.

This update focuses on bug fixes and gameplay tuning.

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• Fixed a bug where you could see players using the wrong Annie palette in game if you didn't own the Season Pass or Annie's DLC.
  
• Fixed a bug for MacOS where using the in-game "Switch To Beta" or "Switch To Retail" logic wouldn't close the already running instance of the game.

• EXPERIMENT - When using Annie's "Crescent Cut" or Peacock's "George's Day Out" as an assist, assist calls will be locked until one second after the projectile has hit or vanished.

• Added VFX for North Knuckle, and updated VFX for Destruction Pillar. More VFX updates will be arriving in the future! =)
  
• Reduced knockback on cHP against airborne opponents and slightly increased opponent only hitstop to leave them closer for easier confirms.
  
• Crescent Cut (L) accelerates much faster than before.
  
• Crescent Cut (M) hitstop increased by 2F, allowing links into LK buttons after and helping with OTG confirms that use it such as after Throw or cHP.
  
• Annie's ground dash starts picking up speed sooner than before, and is also ever so slightly faster.
  
• Added additional effects and sound to Annie's dash to make it clear when you've held it long enough for her to reach her full dash speed. This mechanic already existed, but now it's more obvious when it activated.
  
• While in Star Power, creating stars costs slightly more (~1% more per star) meter.
  
• While in Star Power, meter drains at full speed even if Annie is in hitstun now.
  
• Fixed an issue where Annie could get an unintentional flipped Special or Super input after landing from Re Entry for 1F if she had to turn around.
  
• Adjusted animation on Annie's falling knockdown to loop properly.
  
• Removed a floating hurtbox from one of her knockdown frames.
  
• Fixed a bug where Annie's 29th palette was missing her space effects on Destruction Pillar and Pillar of Creation.
  
• Fixed a bug where Annie could slide forwards or backwards during grounded Gravity Collapse.

• Slightly increased knockback (-10 → -12) and reduced knockup (13 → 12) on Double's Luger Replica (L) against airborne opponents so that she must be closer to confirm off the OTG hit.

• Fixed a crash involving Sekhmet.
  
• Improved effects when collecting blood as Eliza.
  
• Sekhmet doesn't slide back as far when her armor is broken by an armor breaking move, and she bounces slightly higher.
  
• Sekhmet correctly bounces when her armor is broken by Annie's cHK, allowing Annie to combo again.

• Ground Throw and Platonic Drillationship (M) behave as they do in the Retail version of Skullgirls again.

• Refactored Hatred Guard again to resolve a inconsistencies when returning Hatred Guard damage back to an assist and point character on the same hit. (Please let me know if you see any issues with this one!)
  
• Hatred Guard armor ends 1F after the first active frame if a normal is fully charged, rather than lasting several frames after compared to the last Beta update. (Exception: sMP has Hatred Guard armor through all active frames if fully charged)

• Can now always use Fallen Woman (Divekick) after Air Throw, even if she's extremely close to the ground. This fixes some instances where you can't combo from it, in Retail.
  
• Fixed a bug where Squigly's "Rage of the Dragon" required both charges to be performed as a DHC. It now only requires one charge when done as a DHC, just like the requirements to use it while point.
  
• Inferno Of Leviathan no longer knocks down airborne opponents, reverting back to its previous Retail logic.
  
  NOTE: I'm keeping an eye on Squigly Battle Opera knockdown changes, but with the way the wind is blowing, it's likely it will be reverted back to Retail logic as well to make sure her old use cases aren't removed.

(Build version 3.1.9)

Hello, Liam here.

Today's update focuses on some more Eliza tuning for the weekend, and a Painwheel bug fix.

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• sMK damage increased from 175, 175, 175, 250 to 225, 225, 225, 325. (1000 damage total)
  
• Sekhmet's back flip input is now relative to her facing direction, like Specials and Supers.
  
• Sekhmet can back flip multiple times per outing again.
  
• Back flip life cost increased to 600 from 550.
  
• Back flip auto corrects on start up to make sure she always jumps away from the opponent.
  
• Speed at which Sekhmet's health loss over time ramps up has been increased by about 15%. (Remember, successfully hitting the opponent with any Sekhmet attack resets the health drain back to the minimum of 1 life per frame.)
  
• Sekhmet can no longer recall to the anchor from a blocked hit anymore. (Reverted to retail logic)
  
• Sekhmet no longer makes blood when attacking dead characters.
  
• Sekhmet blood healing increased back to 200, from 170. (Reverted to 3.1.6)
  
• Sekhmet heals for 75% of the damage dealt from her new super, and it creates 8 drops of blood again, up from 6 in the last patch.
  
• If Sekhmet is hit with an armor breaking move that pulls her in towards the attacker (Robo-Fortune's cMK, Double's Cilia Slide...) or Beowulf's L Hurting Hurl, she will retain the original hit launch trajectory instead of overriding it.
  
• Fixed a bug where Eliza could collect blood while offscreen, such as right when she's snapped in.

• Fixed a bug where Painwheel would only return stored Hatred Guard to an assist, if she hit an assist and the point character at the same time. Now, both characters receive bonus Hatred Guard damage.

(Build version 3.1.8)