Hi, everyone! This is Jesse. Hope you're having a good day!

Small update to fix some UI bugs introduced yesterday. Some Black Dahlia Alpha UI configurations spilled into Skullgirls 2nd Encore's main build. Apologies for the inconvenience.

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• Reverting erroneously modified Button Config and Options screens.

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(Version number 3.3.27)

Hi, everyone! This is Jesse. Hope you're having a good day!

This retail update brings a small slate of bug fixes as well as a new stage to Skullgirls 2nd Encore. In celebration of Skullgirls being a main stage game at Evo 2022, we're proud to present the Evo Arena stage!

The NMO Arena decks itself out in blue to celebrate this momentous year, and this new stage is free to all players. Thank you again, everyone, for supporting Skullgirls these past 10 years and making all this possible.



What about the Black Dahlia Alpha and PS4?
We're working hard to get the bug fixes and new stage out on PS4 and in the Black Dahlia Alpha before Evo so that everyone can celebrate together. The next Black Dahlia Alpha build will also contain several new features for the Medici murderess. Keep an eye on our social media pages (Twitter, Facebook) for further updates!

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• Evo Arena stage added
  
• Using -beta to switch from Retail to Beta build should no longer lose other command line arguements

• Overstuffed j.HP now tagged as CounterHit
  
• j.HP, like other multi-hit moves, switches to mid-hits after the first hit makes contact
  
• Fixed an issue where her taunt was able to interact with her OTG state in rare situations
  
• Overstuffed Under the Weather bubbles no longer generate meter on hit
  
• Ensure that Hungern doesn't visually glitch after using Feeding Time
  
• Tag-In no longer deals chip damage when blocked

• Beowulf's outtake during grab mode ("Into The Trash") now properly removes Squigly's Inferno of Leviathan Projectile.

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(Version number 3.3.26)

Hello, Liam here.

Today's update adds Black Dahlia's first Blockbuster (STAGE HAZARD) in addition to other tuning.

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While we would normally wait to include a bundle of balance changes together, the first bullet point here impacts Black Dahlia enough that it will be rolled out separately ahead of time. The second change is bundled in with the updated version of Theonite Beam.

• The grounded version of Theonite Beam (H) has had its hitbox adjusted slightly so that it does not hit Black Dahlia when she is crouching. This also impacts Eliza, and it's possible to "low profile" it with more moves.
  
• The grounded version of Theonite Beam (H), when used as an assist, has 20 extra frames of recovery.

• New Blockbuster - STAGE HAZARD.
  
  • Black Dahlia summons and kicks out a barrel that leaves oil behind it as it rolls.
    
  • She can ignite the oil with cHP or her fire shot to cause a chain reaction of explosions that eventually ignite the barrel, causing it to explode.
    
    • The list of attacks that can set off the oil will be expanded in the future to include moves such as Parasoul's Napalm Pillar, Peacock's cMK, Squigly's cHP, etc. For now, only Dahlia herself can set it off.
  • Dahlia (and her teammates) can attack her team's barrel to cause it to roll forward with a hit. The distance it rolls and the strength of the hit is impacted by the attack that hits it.
    
  • After the barrel has touched an opponent several times, it will break and no longer be able to roll.
• Another Round (Reload)
  
  • Changed input from QCB + Kick to QCB + Punch, since it is the opposite of Order Up, and her upcoming Special Moves are better suited for her kicks. Rush Order can now only be performed with a Punch input.
    ... Apologies for destroying everyone's muscle memory! This input is unlikely to change again in the future, so hopefully this is the only time this happens.
    
  • Dahlia flicks up all six shots at once, instead of needing to flick twice. This greatly reduces start up and recovery.
    
  • Recovery is reduced even further than before when performing Rush Order.
• Buck Shot Ammo Type
  
  • Increased blockstun and blockstop. Is now plus on block.
    
  • Increased damage of all versions by 200.
• Normals
  Key Takeaways: All of Dahlia's lights are now plus on hit and block, except for cLK which is still negative on block. sMK is faster, easier to convert off of and use, and can now combo from sLK.
  
  • cHP - Increased hitstun by 2F.
    
  • cHK - Increased blockstun.
    
  • cLP - Increased hitstun by 3F.
    
  • sHP - Reduced start up to 19F.
    
  • sLK - Increased hitstun and blockstun.
    
  • sLP (second hit) - Increased hitstun to match the first hit.
    
  • sMP - Tweaked hitbox to allow it to reliably OTG very close characters
    
  • sLK - Fixed a bug where the "kara throw" window was smaller than intended.
    
  • sMK
    
    • Reduced start up.
      
    • Reduced sliding speed and movement change before going active.
      
    • Reduced hitstop.
      
    • Reduced damage from 800 to 600.
      
    • Increased hitstun by 2F.
      
    • Dahlia no longer halts her momentum when making contact with an opponent, allowing her to carry that momentum into the normal she cancels into.
      
    • Increased blockstun.
      
    • Increased recovery.
      
    • Tweaked dust visuals while sliding.
• Forward Dash
  
  • Reduced dash start up by 2F.
    
  • Removed several instances of dash momentum not being 100% carried into normals. For example, cLP would previously cut dash cancel momentum in half. sLP still reduces dash cancel momentum as before.
    
  • Increased dash cancel normal momentum by 15%.
• Adjusted ground throw hitstop, recovery, and launch trajectory, to better facilitate Stage Hazard and Order Up (L) conversions.
  
• Flipped art when captured inside of Umbrella's bubbles so you can see Dahlia's face.
  
• Fixed a bug where performing "TK" Order Up (air) was stricter than intended compared to other characters.
  
• Fixed a bug where the second hit of jMP was still an overhead even if the first hit made contact.
  
• Fixed a bug where Standard Shot ammo would sometimes not detonate if the projectile was overlapping a point character and a nearby enemy teammate's corpse.
  
• Fixed a bug where Dahlia's position would shift when hit with trip style attacks.

• Fixed a bug with stage lighting on River King Casino (and likely other stages) for Mac and Linux players.
  
• Attempted a fix for an issue where some players would not have online training mode lobbies start correctly.
  
• Fixed an issue where some launch options were not applying correctly.

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(Version number 3.5.3)

Hello, Liam here.

Today's update is focused on Black Dahlia bug fixing and tweaks before we head into the weekend.

• Fixed an issue where Onslaught could be used more than once per jump.
  
• Fixed an issue where Onslaught would come out intentionally when trying to dash jump.
  
• Fixed an issue where Dahlia would not reload special ammo when running out of ammo when using "Order Up!" assist.

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• Different strengths of Another Round (Reload) now influence the number of unique ammo types loaded.
  (... Again, Another Round (Reload) mechanics are subject to change and are still work in progress.)
  
  • (LK) - No special ammo.
    
  • (MK) - 3rd ammo slot is a special ammo.
    
  • (HK) - 3rd and 6th ammo slot are special ammo. This is the reload from the previous patch.
• Increased the time allowed between two kicks to trigger Onslaught. It is now more lenient and easier to trigger if two buttons aren't hit at the exact same time.
  
• Onslaught can now be triggered mid air using regular "stick dash" inputs, such as tapping forward twice.
  
• Forward Dash
  
  • Reworked her dash to resolve an issue where cancelling it into attacks would not carry over momentum using the same rules as other characters.
    
  • Velocity and dash distance ever so slightly reduced.
    
  • Dash start up (before she starts moving forward) reduced by 2F.
• Fixed a bug where sHP has considerably more hitstop on block than intended.
  (... Still a true blockstring into Order Up! (L) up close)
  
• Fixed a bug where Onslaught wasn't keeping Dahlia in a Super Jump (preventing assist calls) state as intended after the initial thrust happens.
  
• Fire Shot
  
  • Reduced burning fire lifetime from ~4s to ~3.5s
    
  • Burning fire dissipates between "downs" in 1v1 fights.
• Slightly adjusted the Standard Shot "trigger" hitbox which determines if an enemy is close enough for it to explode.
  
• Fixed a bug where Standard Shot would explode when hitting Parasoul's set tears.
  
• Fixed a bug where air Onslaught could sometimes turn Dahlia around backwards unexpectedly.
  
• Added Black Dahlia's missing "dessert" when she defeats herself.
  (... A new dessert enters the ring! Please update your win pose dessert tier lists.)
  
• Fixed a bug where Dahlia would not always be held in the correct position when being thrown.
  
• Tweaked some art on Dahlia's Standard Shot ammo type.

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(Build version 3.5.1)

In classic Skullgirls tradition, Black Dahlia will arrive in an unfinished state with some work-in-progress "sketchy" frames. Keep an eye out for frequent updates during this Playable Alpha as we bring her closer to completion!

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Dahlia still has a long way to go until full completion, but she still has a large percentage of her planned kit functionally integrated. There are a few things worth noting before you play her:

• One of Dahlia’s major unique features is her ability to load different ammo types into her gun. To begin with this will only have 3 types of ammo implemented, but there’ll be more coming in the near future. Her method of loading ammo is also still a work in progress and subject to change at any time - don't get to attached to how it works currently! She will also get several more Special Moves and Blockbusters as time goes on.
  
• Most of Dahlia’s animations are still unfinished and uncolored sketchy frames. Some of her VFX like explosions and sparks are colored, but these are still temporary and will change in the future.
  
• While Dahlia has some voice work and general sound effects implemented, she is far from complete. Expect many more voice lines and updates to the sound effects already available.
  
• Her visuals and existing toolkit will all get a general tuning and improvements over the coming months.

We'd love to hear your feedback on how she's shaping up (and any bugs you've come across), so don't be shy in joining the official Discord (discord.gg/skullgirls) and the official forums (skullheart.com)!

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Characters in their Alpha phase are currently only available to Season 1 Pass holders. If you don't own the Season 1 Pass DLC, you won't be able to use Black Dahlia yet. You can pick up the Season 1 Pass here:

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

Once you have the Season 1 Pass DLC, launch the game in BETA mode by pressing the green PLAY button on Skullgirls 2nd Encore from your Steam library page, then selecting "Skullgirls Beta (Black Dahlia Alpha)". You can also launch the game in BETA mode by navigating to the in-game Options menu, and pressing "Switch To Beta".

In BETA mode, you can pick Dahlia on the character select screen as normal!

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Once Black Dahlia’s Alpha phase is over, her individual character DLC will go live in Early Access on the Steam store. This will allow you to play Dahlia during her Early Access Beta phase without owning the Season 1 Pass.

A character's Alpha phase is over once they have voice acting integrated, unique sound effects, and all of their attack animations fully complete.

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Dahlia is slated to have her full release on Steam, PS4 and Mobile in 2022. The final character in the Season 1 Pass will follow in 2023.



Eager for more news about the 4th DLC Character? If you haven’t heard, Skullgirls is a Main Game at Evo 2022 this year. If you want to be a part of history, you may want to tune into that event… or better yet, register to attend or compete right here: https://smash.gg/evo

Remember - the more registered Skullgirls players there are, the more prominent our positioning will be at the event! Even if you’re not competing, if you can make it to Las Vegas this year, please show your support for Skullgirls on our 10th anniversary, and swing by our booth to get tons of free swag and goodies!

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Dahlia’s Alpha and Early Access Beta are exclusive to Steam.

The Season 1 Pass is currently available on PS4. Dahlia will join Annie and Umbrella later this year alongside her Full Release.

We are actively developing Skullgirls 2nd Encore and the Season 1 Pass as an update for the Switch and as a new release for Xbox One & Xbox Series X. Although we can’t confirm a release date at this time, we are currently targeting later this year!

Keep an eye on our social media pages (Twitter, Facebook) for further updates!

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There’s a few updates also included in this update that generally improve the stability of the game:

• Added a new Photosensitivity Warning on game start-up. This is not related to any new additions, but refers existing flashing imagery that has always been there, like the white flash during SHOWTIME at round start.
  
• Fixed a bug where some lobby related text wouldn't appear correctly. (Ex: NewType36)
  
• Addressed some localization and translation errors.
  
• Improved stability when switching audio devices on Windows to mitigate crashes.
  
• Fixed a bug where the laughter sound when landing a "Happy Birthday" KO would sometimes be cut off in certain situations.
  
• Implemented some minor UI control improvements for the Art Gallery screen.
  
• Fixed some bugs related to Quick Match after the recent multiplayer refactor.
  
• Fixed a bug where a lobby region would not update to match the current host's region if the previous host left.
  
• Fixed a bug where UI related to "Play Again" would appear briefly in a "Queen Of The Hill" lobby if there were only two players in it.

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We can’t wait to hear your thoughts on Black Dahlia now that she's finally made her big (alpha) debut! Thanks so much again for all of your support, and stay tuned here and on our social media pages (Twitter, Facebook) any upcoming news and events. The Skullgirls Launch Party never ends!

<3
All of us at Hidden Variable and Autumn Games

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Black Dahlia’s key Special Move is using her massive gun-arm to launch slow-moving explosive rounds that detonate on contact. These explosive rounds don't have the fullscreen reach like other zoning tools, so she's more effective at mid-range where she can approach alongside them using her forward dash and unique “Onslaught” jump.

Onslaught is Dahlia’s unique movement ability that leaps towards the opponent allowing her to attack from the perfect angle. It can be used from the ground and the air, and the distance covered by the ground version adjusts based on how far she is from the opponent.

In future Alpha updates, Black Dahlia's reload will be enhanced with unique rounds beyond her classic explosive shot. For example, one unique round creates a flaming hazard on the stage to enhance her zoning, while another turns her next shot into a powerful short-range buckshot. Her gun holds six rounds, after which she'll need to reload.

Her remaining Special Moves will be focused on escaping and tricky movement, and you'll just have to wait and find out what's in store for her Blockbusters!

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Although exact dates aren’t set in stone yet, per usual we plan on having three major milestones for Dahlia’s release:

Like Umbrella’s release, Steam Season 1 Pass owners will be able to play a “sketchy” version of Dahlia while she’s still early in development. This is a rare chance to get a peek behind the curtain of video game development! You’ll be along for the ride as regular updates will see new moves and mechanics added over time.

To begin with Dahlia will be mostly functionally complete aside from several of her Special Moves and Blockbusters, so you’ll get a feel for her unique movement and ranged attack options right out of the gate. Some of her crazier stuff will start to appear shortly thereafter!



Once Dahlia has her full set of finished animations and voice acting, she will be ready for general gameplay tuning adjustments and she will move into her Early Access Beta. This will involve extensive testing and processing of player feedback, ensuring that Dahlia is the best that she can be before Final Release!

Dahlia’s new stage and theme music may also make an appearance…



Dahlia’s full release will feature all the bells and whistles of every finished character. She will be fully balanced and feature complete, and will have her finished stage and music, a brand new story mode, character trials, etc.

At this point she will also be made available on other platforms outside of Steam.

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Characters in their Alpha phase are only available to Season 1 Pass holders. If you don't own the Season 1 Pass DLC, you won't be able to use Dahlia until later in the year.

If you don’t own the Season 1 Pass yet you can pick it up here:

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

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Dahlia’s individual character DLC will only go on sale once her Alpha phase is over and she has moved into Early Access Beta. This will allow you to play Dahlia during her Early Access Beta phase without owning the Season 1 Pass.

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Dahlia’s Alpha and Early Access Beta are exclusive to Steam.
The Season 1 Pass is currently available on PS4. Dahlia will join Annie and Umbrella later this year alongside her Full Release.

We are excited to finally confirm that we are actively developing Skullgirls 2nd Encore and the Season 1 Pass as an update for the Switch and as a new release for Xbox One & Xbox Series X! Although we can’t confirm a release date at this time, we are currently targeting later this year!

Keep an eye on our social media pages (Twitter, Facebook) for further updates!

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Although Dahlia is making her big debut at Combo Breaker 2022, there is still one more DLC character in the Season 1 Pass yet to be revealed…

We initially planned for DLC 4 to release later this year, but we are now projecting an early 2023 release.



Eager for more news about the 4th DLC Character? If you haven’t heard, Skullgirls is a Main Game at Evo 2022 this year. If you want to be a part of history, you may want to tune into that event… or better yet, register to attend or compete right here: https://smash.gg/evo

Remember - the more registered Skullgirls players there are, the more prominent our positioning will be at the event! If you can make it to Las Vegas this year, please show your support for Skullgirls on our 10th anniversary, and swing by our booth to get tons of free swag and goodies!

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Be sure to keep an eye on our social accounts (Twitter, Facebook) for regular animation previews, behind the scenes concept art, and even livestream animation sessions with the amazing artists at Future Club.

We can’t wait to share everything we have in store for Skullgirls in the coming months. Thank you all SO much for your endless support! Here’s to ten more years!

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

Hello everyone, this is Jesse! I hope you're having a good day!

We have a small patch this morning to address some of the bugs reported by the community from the networking refactor. We're still investigating and working on some of the other reported issues, but we thank you for your patience and your support!

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• Attempted to address some underlying issues with the p2p communications before players connect via GGPO.
  
• Added additional logging to p2p communications to better diagnose any remaining issues.
  
• Win counts should now properly update for 2-player lobbies when the rematch options appear.
  
• Accepting an invite for a lobby from a different version of the game should properly kick the player back to the lobby search screen and display a warning popup.

• Fixed issue where you could see your opponents name in the ping display, before you should.

• Fixed issue that was causing all the story talking heads to be misaligned.

(Build version 3.4.2)

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If you experience issues, you can report them at the following locations:

• 2e-bugs channel in the official Skullgirls Discord
  
• Bug-Reports thread(s) on the Skullheart forums.

Hello everyone, this is Jesse. I hope you're having a good day!

We have a small patch before the weekend to address one small issue in the Multiplayer Refactor Beta while we actively investigate other issues that have already been reported.

Please remember you can report any issues related to the Muiltplayer Refactor Beta either in the 2e-bugs channel in the official Skullgirls Discord OR in the Bug-Reports thread(s) on the Skullheart forums.

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• Fixed an issue with Steam DLC permissions.

(Build version 3.4.1)

Since taking over Skullgirls 2nd Encore development in January 2021, Hidden Variable and Future Club have been working hard to bring you, the players, the four new characters that are part of our Season 1 Pass DLC. And don't worry, you'll be able to get your hands on Dahlia soon!
(First playable demo will be at Combo Breaker 2022)

But that's not all we've been doing.

The patch today is the result of a lot of hard work behind the scenes. Today, in the Beta build, we're testing out large scale refactors of the online multiplayer and the UI systems. These refactors are meant to improve the stability and reliability of our online lobbies, quick match, and spectating, fixing issues that have been longtime thorns in the community's side.

While most of these changes will not be readily noticeable, these codebase upgrades pave the way for us to make more substantial improvements to the multiplayer experience in the future. They will also make console development easier going forward, and not just for PS4. More news on that coming soon!

Of course, with refactors this big, there is a chance that new bugs have been introduced. That's why these changes are in the Beta build of Skullgirls 2nd Encore. There are no functional combat changes between Retail and Beta, but we still hope everyone will pop over to the Beta environment to test out these changes and enjoy the smoother multiplayer experience.

And should you experience any bugs, these refactors should also make it easier for us to diagnose and fix the issues. Please report bugs experienced either in the 2e-bugs channel in the official Skullgirls Discord OR in the Bug-Reports thread(s) on the Skullheart forums. We monitor those areas constantly for bug reports, so that's the best way to let us know something is wrong.

These are exciting times for Skullgirls 2nd Encore as both new characters and the old engine get lots of TLC, and we wouldn't be able to do this without the support of such an amazing community!

- Hidden Variable

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• New Beta logic to allow for separate Retail/Beta builds

• Fixed lighting bug on Class Notes

• Added in updated Final Atrium 2D Art
  
• Added in Boardwalk Stage 2D Art (Prototype & Final)
  
• Added in No Man's Land 2D Art
  
• Updated Class Notes 2D Art
  
• Added Alt Class Notes 2D Art

Includes all changes to Retail Build

• Large scale UI refactors to improve reliability of navigating around the game
  
• Large scale networking refactors to improve reliability of lobbies and quick matches
  
• Large scale networking refactors to improve reliability of spectating
  
• Lobby Host now shown in Lobby UI
  
• Steam Profile Pics reliability improvement

• Fixed stuttering when fast-forwarding credits
  
• Improved transition from Art Gallery to Main Menu
  
• Fixed logo screens not being skippable after a certain point
  
• Other miscellaneous fixes

• New "Master Volume" control that influences all in-game volumes.
  
• New "Mute When Unfocused" option that will mute the game when you switch to other programs.

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(Retail Build version 3.3.24)
(Beta Build version 3.4.0)

Hello everyone, this is Jesse. I hope you're having a good day!

A small patch this morning to fix a few small things from yesterday's big Umbrella release. Hope everyone is enjoying Umbrella!

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• Fixed Umbrella's icon being missing on the "Trials" screen.
  
• Remove "Switch to Beta" from the "Help & Options" menu... for now.

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(Build version 3.3.23)