May 6, 2021

Skullgirls 2nd Encore - Hidden Variable Studios

In case you missed our Teaser Trailer…

FINALLY, everyone’s favorite salty sister is getting her time in the spotlight! Ice cream for everyone!

GAMEPLAY SYNOPSIS

Okay, CUTE. But how will she PLAY?! For that, let's kick it over to Liam:

While Umbrella is still very early on in development, we wanted to share some details about where her gameplay direction is heading at the moment. Please note that this is all HEAVILY subject to change after further testing and development, and the terms used to describe her toolkit and states are a work in progress…Umbrella is a small character with BIG swings thanks to her living weapon, Hungern. While she is slow with limited movement options, she can use special moves to approach with some risk.Most of her attacks will involve Hungern in some way. Hungern will get hungrier as the match goes on or after performing certain actions, and his hunger level will influence his move properties.For example, If Hungern is STARVING, normals that use him are slower, but moves that involve devouring the opponent are stronger. If Hungern is OVERSTUFFED, moves that involve him conjuring something from the depths of his stomach may have bonus effects. Hungern is quite RAVENOUS and dangerous when he is hungry but not yet STARVING - expect to be rewarded if you can maintain this narrow window of power! Umbrella players will have to manage Hungern's hunger level or at least adapt to how her moves change based on Hungern’s state.

WHEN? WHENNNNN?!!

While we don’t have any official dates to share, since Umbrella is being developed in parallel for 2nd Encore and Mobile, you’re going to be able to play her earlier than ever!

Alpha (~2 months)
Steam Season 1 Pass owners will be able to play a “sketchy” version of Umbrella while she’s still early in development (similar to the original 2nd Encore DLC characters). Everything will be subject to heavy iteration - but you’ll be able try her on for size before anyone else. You may even get a sneak peek at her Stage and Music...

(Early Umbrella Stage Concept Art)

Beta / Early Access (Q3 2021)
Similar to Annie’s Early Access release, this is when Umbrella will be made available with full finished animations and other general gameplay tuning adjustments planned for DLC2. Once we are done with our extensive testing/tuning per player feedback, it’s time for...

Full Release (Q4 2021)
Similar to Annie’s Full Release (coming soon!), this will include Umbrella in her final state, along with her full Story Mode! Who knows, we may even have a clue or two regarding the 3rd Season Pass character by then…

BONUS: SEASON 1 PASS PALETTES - NOW AVAILABLE!

In celebration of the Umbrella announcement, we have made the Season 1 Pass Palette Pack available RIGHT NOW! Simply download the latest update to check them out:

2ND ENCORE + SEASON 1 PASS SALE

In addition, both Skullgirls 2nd Encore and the Season 1 Pass are on SALE on Steam for a limited time! If you’ve been waiting to grab the Season 1 Pass, or you have a friend who has been thinking about getting into Skullgirls overall, now’s a great time to pick it up.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1557981/Skullgirls_Season_1_Pass/

STAY TUNED FOR MORE DETAILS!

Itching for more behind-the-scenes goodies? You’re in luck! Keep an eye on our social accounts (Twitter / Facebook) for regular animation previews and even livestream animation sessions with the amazing artists at Future Club.

We can’t wait to share everything we have in store for Annie, Umbrella, and beyond. Thank you all SO much for your endless support!

<3
All of us at Hidden Variable, Future Club, and Autumn Games

Apr 28, 2021

Beta Mode Update [2021-04-28]

Skullgirls 2nd Encore - Liam

Hello, Liam here.

This update is focused on Annie and Beowulf tuning.

VFX

A new effect has been added that appears when activating several defensive mechanics that are otherwise a bit hidden. The regular block effect will turn into a pink shield under the following conditions:

You are performing what is known in the community as "absolute guard" (pushblock high, switch guard to low, or vice versa), and use it to protect yourself from a high or low hit.
You jump a command grab and are hit with a "unblockable while rising" style attack (Magnetic Trap, A-Train, Excellabella, etc) shortly after, allowing you to block it when you normally can't.
You activate high low unblockable protection and are protected from blocking the second hit without needing to switch your guard manually.

(... Please let me know if you see it appear unexpectedly!)

ANNIE

Adjusted the presentation and visuals for Annie's "Sagan Beam" super. With this, all of Annie's visuals are complete.
(... If you're enjoying Annie's over the top effects, make sure to send a huge thank you to @Persona for putting these amazing visual updates together!)
Reduced recovery of North Knuckle (H) follow up slam slightly. Provided a small buffer into normals after to make heavy links not 1F timing on characters like Big Band and Double.
(... Still requires her to be a bit closer to the corner to convert after on average, but shouldn't remove any of her previous corner routes which were more flexible.)
Ground throw damage increased from 900 to 1300.
Pillar of Creation second hit hitstop increased, and it now launches heavier characters higher
(... She always has enough time to convert from anywhere even after using OTG now. For example, Meteor Strike → Pillar of Creation → Dash → Combo.)
Reverted meter drain during Star Power to one bar every 10 seconds, instead of one bar every 7 seconds.
(... The previous Star Power jHP meter drain increase does enough here without this.)
Annie now keeps the majority of her momentum again after ending her Air Dash without cancelling it.
Gravity Collapse (Star Power deactivation) damage increased from 1350 to 1600.

BEOWULF

EX finishers activated from hype gained in the same combo (see previous patch notes) now deal 70% of their original damage, up from 50%.

(Build version 3.1.18)

Apr 23, 2021

Beta Mode Update [2021-04-23]

Skullgirls 2nd Encore - Liam

Hello, Liam here.

This update focuses on more Beowulf and Annie tuning, primarily.

Also, while the qualifiers for the Skullgirls Championship Series were last weekend, this weekend it's time for the MAIN EVENT!

Make sure to tune in tomorrow, Saturday April 24th at 1PM PT to catch the action on https://www.twitch.tv/SkullgirlsGG.

ANNIE

Massively overhauled the presentation and audio for Annie's air throw, "Gimbal Lock".
Updated jMK VFX, again.
Updated autograph picture presentation during "Photo Bop".
sF+HP (Forward + HP) animation timing slightly adjusted so that Annie gets to an identifiable frame quicker, so players can notice the overhead is coming.
sF+HP used to have Annie slide on one foot forward before delivering the hit, despite her not changing animation frames. This was adjusted so her footing and movement are in sync. For gameplay impact, she travels slightly less farther forward before delivering the hit.
Updated hit and whiff sounds on sF+HP to be more dramatic.
Fixed a bug where Annie could get stuck tilting left or right when using Re Entry.
Fixed a bug where sF+MP wouldn't stagger if used immediately after Crescent Cut from a previous chain.
Annie's air dash correctly adjusts momentum when it ends without her cancelling into an action, like all other characters.
North Knuckle (H):
- The wall splat only happens once per combo, like other non Blockbuster wall splat moves.
- Reduced the knock back against assists when using the follow up slam even further.
- First hit damage reduced from 700 to 650.
- Increased recovery on slam follow up on successful hit to require Annie to be closer to the corner to convert.
  (... If you want more time for follow up options or dashing up to the opponent after, use North Knuckle (M) instead.)
Adjusted jHP hitbox. (Small reduction)
Adjusted jLK and jMK hitbox. (Improvement)
Pillar of Creation knocks opponents higher, but no longer drains meter. The screen flash during the grip has been removed.
Re Entry first and second kick damage reduced by 100. Final kick damage increased by 100.
When using jMK immediately after jumping and performing an air dash, Annie's air dash lockout period is much longer than usual.
(... This prevents low to the ground air dash jLK from hitting crouchers - she doesn't need this fast overhead option)
Sagan Beam damage per hit reduced from 290 to 250.
Star Power passive meter drain increased from 1 bar per 10 seconds to 1 bar per 7 seconds.
Star Power jHP meter drain increased by 2% of 1 bar.
Ground throw recovery increased by 9F.
(... Universal throw confirms midscreen are still easy, try using Crescent Cut M if you weren't already)

BEOWULF

Fixed a bug with Wulfshoot where universal throw unblockable protection that allows characters to block Excellabella, A-Train, H Buer, etc, while rising, would only activate once where Beowulf starts Wulfshoot. It now activates as Beowulf moves, preventing unblockables that could be set up by starting Wulfshoot from anywhere but a close distance.
Chip damage when blocking normals without the chair reduced from 50 to 35 damage.
Held s[LP] hype build slightly increased. (1/40 each frame to 1/35).
Taunt grants three hype immediately again, just like in retail. Recovery slightly increased from last update, but total recovery is less than retail still.
Taunt gains 3 hype in the middle of Beowulf's howling, rather than at the end.
(... Hint: sHK [Stagger] → Taunt [Get 3 Hype] → Gigantic Arm is practical [Solo!] to build 3 hype and combo after if you spend the bar... Getting interrupted with a projectile is also less likely to prevent Beowulf from getting 3 hype. This might be too strong, we'll see!)

Beowulf gaining 3 hype on his own and being able to combo after, in addition to him being able to acquire hype more easily, comes with some changes:
Hype acquired mid combo from s[LP], Taunt, or non-EX finishers (and any hype acquired in the same combo afterwards), will make any EX finisher it is spent on deal half damage. This does not apply to Super finishers, and it does not reduce Geatish Trepak's damage since it's not boosted during the EX version. TL;DR - Spending hype gained mid combo on EX finishers does less damage.

(... EXAMPLES: If you have two hype, and gain one hype in a combo from taunt, then your first two finishers in the combo deal full damage, but the last one will deal half... If you have one hype, and taunt to gain two more hype, then your first finisher deals full damage, and the last two will deal half damage... If you start a new combo, none of this applies.)

ELIZA

Reduced variance in how far away the blood spawned from Sekhmet's new super can land.

PAINWHEEL

Fixed a bug where Painwheel couldn't fly around during the mid round downtime of a solo vs solo match, like she could in Retail.
Added "Lenient Button Dashing" for Painwheel. Two punch inputs can be pressed one frame apart while still getting a button dash.
(... This change will continue to be rolled out for more characters in the future, as stated before.)

ROBO-FORTUNE

Warranty Extension starts self inflicted damage at 300, and increases self inflicted damage by 100 for each head consumed, maxing out at 1000.
(... Now that she cannot regain the health since the damage provides no red life, this should feel appropriately fair for 3 meter while still making sure attempting to stay in Circuit Breaker indefinitely is very costly and risky.)

So far, feedback seems to indicate sHK feels fair for the defender and the attacker, and people seem to be enjoying it. So, continuing the trend of improving sHK as serviceable overhead after her loss of IDJC overheads, here are a few more changes:
Overhauled the presentation for Robo-Fortune's new homing jump after sHK.
Fixed a bug where Robo-Fortune couldn't perform her new homing jump when hitting sHK in a reset after using it in the previous combo.
Removed animation recovery added when the opponent blocks sHK, it now only plays on successful hit against the point character.
Tuned sHK blockstun and recovery. With the above changes it is now -13 on block.
(... Certainly punishable up close, and punishable from far away by various character specific tools.

(Build version 3.1.17)

Apr 12, 2021

Beta Mode Update(s) [2021-04-12]

Skullgirls 2nd Encore - Liam

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...

VERSION 3.1.14 (BETA)

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.

VERSION 3.1.15 (CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES)

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.

Apr 9, 2021

Beta Mode Update [2021-04-09]

Skullgirls 2nd Encore - Liam

Hello, Liam here.

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

ANNIE

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

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

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%.

ROBO-FORTUNE

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])

BIG BAND

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.

CEREBELLA

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.

ELIZA

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

FILIA

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.

MS. FORTUNE

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

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.)

VALENTINE

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.

VFX

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)