Early Access Hotpatch 03/15/19 is now live on steam so if you haven't yet, restart your games to receive it. Verify your files to get the update instantly.

Just a bit of general dusting off of some issues that popped up with the last update, particularly involving the recent backdash + blocking change. Things should be much more consistent now!

• Instant blocking should now properly reduce maximum knockback while midscreen
  
• Fixed an issue causing inconsistencies with blocking during jump startup after backdashing
  
• Fixed invalid combo counter inaccuracy when throwing an opponent directly out of rolls

• 214(atk)+(atk) (Frostbite)'s frost slowdown effect no longer affects the opponent's throws

• Fixed Cross Canter not costing the correct amount of meter

• Fixed being unable to do 236A (Volcanic Ash) during Ran Shao Feng

Curious about the details behind our new patch? Oreo from our QA team will be hosting a post-patch stream today at 3PM PST/6PM EST! Come on by, chat, hang out, ask questions! We'll be discussing everything from system mechanics to character balance - Please join us and say hello at https://www.twitch.tv/manesix

Early Access Patch #12 03/08/19 is now live on steam so if you haven't yet, restart your games and pixel lobby servers to receive it. Verify your files to get the update instantly.

As we get closer to 1.0, you're gonna start seeing some big pushes for polish while we continue to work on story mode. This patch brings some much-desired combat HUD enhancements as well as further animation/balance updates.

Also, as a reminder, Oreo of our QA team will be hosting a Post-Patch Stream on Monday March 11 at 3pm PT. Same place as always: https://www.twitch.tv/manesix

Read on...

The JD Bar now has an animation when filled and changes color as JDG is tightened.

• Yellow is the beginning of JDG
  
• Orange is Average JDG
  
• Red is high JDG (Time to wrap up that combo!)
  
• Pink is insane JDG (How are you not done yet? CALM DOWN)

An 'invalid' combo is a combo that could have been teched out of at a certain point.

• The combo number will change color if at any point your opponent could have teched out of your combo
  
• Another number will show up underneath the color change to display on which hit of the current combo the opponent could have gotten out of it
  
• Up to 3 failure points can be displayed at once (at which point how and why are they still letting you get away with this? HIT SOME BUTTONS, NEVER GIVE UP)

Expressions are context sensitive, for example "in hitstun", "performing super", "low health", etc.



Characters now strike a pose when chosen in character select! These are still a bit of a work in progress. We hope to finalize the animations by next patch. (it's still Early Access, after all)



JDG value is now displayed in advanced data. This number is only ever affected after JD is filled



Frame data in Advanced Training mode now display division lines every 5 frames. This was long overdue and we apologize to all the lab monsters out there



We've applied a layer of polish to Oleander and Fred's portraits in the tutorial. Fred is now much more pointy

• The Gas Mask accessory is now a face slot item. It was formerly a head slot item
  
• Shadow characters in the Salt Mines now have proper in-fight palettes
  
• There is now an icon in the server select menu that tells you which map it's hosting (though only Velvet's lobby is officially supported until next patch)

• Replaced Oleander's Intermediate 5 combo trial
  
• You can no longer block during backdash -> jump startup

• Fixed an issue that caused Trample's recovery to prematurely disable counterhit, including on block
  
• 6B hurtbox no longer totally clears the average height of an A
  
• Running now continues if you pass your opponent
  
• Trample animation updated
  
• Trample startup no longer slides forward before launching
  
• Fixed several cases where Trample could be cancelled into Level 2, even if the opponent has not been hit directly
  
• 2C now has a new animation

• Velvet now has several new animations for casting ice missiles and snowballs for air and ground
  
• 214A and C have new ice animations. B's ice animation now crumbles
  
• 623(ATK) ice animations now crumble
  
• 214A and C no longer work strangely when Velvet is under the effects of another Velvet's level 2 frost effect (...finally)

• Teleport C can now properly be counterhit
  
• Running now continues if you pass your opponent

• Can crouch cancel forward dashes again
  
• The first backdash of the match no longer has 1 additional frame of invulnerability (...yep!)

• Air normals can no longer be cancelled into specials on whiff
  
• B animation updated

It's been one year since Them's Fightin' Herds went into early access, and we're excited to share our progress as we inch ever so closer to the full 1.0 launch!

As always, feel free to hang out, chat, and ask our team questions.

Our stream this month will be focused on pixel art! Jay Wright will be taking us through his process of making sprites for story mode NPCs, and guest star Alco will be hanging out to answer questions about environment tilesets.

We'll also be showing off our next patch, which is to be released next week! Bugfixes, some cool UI improvements, we really think you're going to dig it.

We thank our community for the continued support. You're all awesome.

https://www.twitch.tv/manesix

More info

EA PATCH #11.1

Hotpatch time! CC strikes again! (but can now be struck back)

Restart your games and pixel lobby servers to receive the new update. Verify your files to get the update instantly.

• CC invulnerability timings are now fixed up for real this time, and should therefore be consistently baitable/punishable across all characters.
  
• Fixed infinite install timer UI settings affecting all other modes.
  
• Dimensional rifts in caves have been repaired.

• Debris created during Trample no longer slides forward during startup, only back.

• Ice Cyclone now has a proper ending animation for both level 1 and 2.

• If Velvet gets hit by another Velvet's level 2, some specials may act particularly weird/disappear.
  
• 4D into j.A with tianhuo reads out to be 14 frames of startup before earliest possible hit, but it's actually 18.
  
• There are some situations where the damage mitigation of pushblock at low health does not kick in properly.

Sorry we got... tied up... for a moment there.

Work stream #18 was first mentioned about a week ago in Aaron's announcement video, but here is the dedicated post. This is a bit short notice, but don't worry! You can watch the replay on our YouTube channel or catch next month's if you miss this one.

That's right. Devstreams are happening again, every month, until 1.0 and beyond!

January's stream is Tomorrow, Thursday the 31st. Same time (3PM PT), same channel (https://www.twitch.tv/manesix).

Our number-one goal is to show you some spoiler-free story mode tools and content. Keep in mind that everything's still very much a work in progress. Things will be changed between now the final product. There's still many months of work to be done to get it ready for you to play.

Other than that, the rest is up to you! We'll be around for about two hours total to hang out, talk about the latest patch, and answer questions.

See you there.

Early Access Patch 01/29/19 is now live on steam so if you haven't yet, restart your games and pixel lobby servers to receive it. Verify your files to get the update instantly.

This patch introduces a new save file format to fix a previous issue of saves being inconsistent and unreliable. Unfortunately this means that current saves involving target mode will be reset. We tried our best to preserve this data but there wasn't anything we could do. Going forward things will be much more stable.

• Fixed some inconsistent collision boxes for Oleander and Velvet knockdowns
  
• Cross Canter attackbox now ends much sooner
  
• There is now a proper graphic for item pickups (gifts)

• Trample no longer forces preblock during its long recovery
  
• Trample now has a new animation
  
• Cleaned up animation for Rebound

• Fixed mistiming of Shatter C which made the recovery slightly faster than intended when the new animation was introduced
  
• Ice Tornado is now animated (the final hit(s) will also soon be updated)
  
• Fixed some inconsistent collision boxes for knockdowns

• Fixed some inconsistent collision boxes for knockdowns
  
• Maximum magic regen from reading has been reduced
  
• There is now a UI element for Fred's Summon timer

• There is now a UI element for Picnic's timer
  
• There is now a UI element for Picnic's remaining gifts

• j.B now causes slightly more hitstop on grounded opponents. This should further ensure Unblockable Protection kicks in consistently

• Fixed 4D acting strangely during Ran Shao Feng, it should now more consistently pass through opponents.
  
• Volcanic Ash now hits 3 times during Ran Shao Feng, with the third hit causing a groundbounce like before
  
• Volcanic Crash now causes hard knockdown during Ran Shao Feng
  
• During Volcanic Crash, the flight cancel window is now strictly after the knockdown has been completed. Previously tian was able to let go too soon which would force a soft knockdown
  
• Flight Speed reduced in all directions
  
• There is now a UI element for Ran Shao Feng's install timer

• If Velvet gets hit by another Velvet's level 2, some specials may act particularly weird/disappear.
  
• 4D into j.A with tianhuo reads out to be 14 frames of startup before earliest possible hit, but it's actually 18.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=285Ysrl_lYE
Aaron Stavely is now an official member of Mane6! He has joined forces with us to make more high-quality video tutorials for TFH and also manage the dev team, who was definitely in need of management.


Aaron is an old, long-term friend of the devs who has been helping us solve a variety of challenges with the project on his own time since before we launched into Early Access. He is a bit of a Renaissance man who has worked in the game industry professionally for over 4 years.

You may have seen him moderating the Steam forums and hanging out in Discord under the tag Infinaron. He also did the effects on Fred’s voice to make him sound all demon-y!


Aaron has been hired to address two specific concerns:

a. It takes a dedicated person to coordinate a team of distributed game developers with unbridled passion to make the best four-legged fighting game ever.

b. We need to start communicating more frequently with you, the community.

Aaron has been with us fulltime since December of last year. By the power of spreadsheets, calendars, and good old-fashioned JFDI, he has already completely revolutionized the way we work.


There is always more work to be done, but we are getting close to the point where we can call the game “version 1.0”. How close? Well, it’s definitely for sure happening this year.

From now on, we are committing to monthly game updates and monthly devstreams. Delays may still happen, but going forward we will make every effort to explain why, and for how long.

The next devsteam is Thurs, Jan 31 @ 3PM PST. We will do our usual Q&A and also show you our tools for Story Mode, which have undergone a complete overhaul since we last talked about them.

Since it's been so long since the last one, here is a link to our stream channel!
https://www.twitch.tv/manesix


At 1.0, Story Mode will only include the prologue and chapter one (Arizona). After 1.0, the remaining five base characters’ chapters will be added later on, free of charge. We have plans to expand the roster, starting with goat, with more following. Development of goat will begin after 1.0 releases. No day-one DLC.

As mentioned before, the goat DLC will be free for backers of our indiegogo campaign as a thank you for helping us reach our stretch goals. The standard price for goat and further DLC has not been determined yet and will be revealed alongside actual content.


Aaron will be making a dedicated post later this week to fully outline his plans for new video tutorials. We can say that right now he will be focusing more on general gameplay rather than character-specific content until 1.0 is released, since everyone has been rapidly receiving balance changes, new moves, and visual polish with each Early Access patch.

His old videos will remain up on his personal channel for now but will eventually be redone to reflect the current patch and improve clarity. All new videos of his will be posted on the Mane6 YouTube page and website.


That’s all our updates for now. More posts are coming to expand on things. You guys are awesome. Things are moving more quickly and efficiently now. We’ve got some really cool stuff coming your way. Can’t wait to show you.


- M6

Early Access Patch 01/04/19 is now live on steam so if you haven't yet, restart your games and pixel lobby servers to receive it. Verify your files to get the update instantly.

Heya! Hope everyone had some tasty holidays and happy new years! This is a quick patch to clear up issues collected over the holidays with our recent patch, namely a rather sizable one that made Cross Canter almost unpunishable(!!).

To be completely honest, with all of the underlying system changes of last patch, we're surprised many more things didn't fall out from underneath the game. Apologies, regardless! Keep up the bug reports!

• Fixed an issue causing Cross Canter's window of vulnerability to fluctuate during recovery, making it difficult to punish.

• Fixed the coloring of ropes for all palettes
  
• Brushed her teeth

• Fixed an issue causing most Victory animations to go to an odd pose after she's done speaking.

• Predators are now less festive
  
• Festive hats are no longer defaulted on pixel lobby entry, but no worries, all players will still have one in their inventories!
  
• Fixed some layering issues in Velvet's Pixel Lobby and Salt Mines
  
• Players that are AFK for too long will be removed from the matchmaking queue. You can manually go back in at any time after
  
• Legacy lobbies are more stable, players should be able to invite and start fights once again
  
• Fixed a crash related to entering character select after going through certain game modes

• If Velvet gets hit by another Velvet's level 2, some specials may act particularly weird/disappear
  
• It is still possible for Tianhuo to occasionally lose momentum during some airdash cancels
  
• There may be some cases where pushblocking at less than 300 health still occasionally allows damage to pass through

Patch (12/23/18) is now live on steam so if you haven't yet, restart your games and pixel lobby servers to receive it. Verify your files to get the update instantly.

This one's been a long time coming.

Tons of new content that we've been excited to deliver is finally here. Most importantly: Matchmaking! You can now queue for online matches from the main menu!

... or Training Mode. Or the Pixel Lobby. In fact, you can run matchmaking from nearly every mode in the game! There is no central server involved; all of the matchmaking calculations run directly through Steam. Lots of blood, sweat, and most importantly, time, went into making this feature as solid and bug-free as possible.

All of that extra time spent working on matchmaking means that we were able to sneak some gameplay changes in there, too! While we still have more changes coming soon, it wasn't the focus in this update, so they aren't as substantial as previous updates. What they DO include are:

• Fully voiced and animated fight intros and winposes
  
• New predator attacks and AI behaviors
  
• Updated attack animations, some with brand new facial expressions

While it did take quite some time to get this update out, the good news is that puts us right at the end of December, conveniently in time for the holidays. To celebrate the season, the Pixel Lobby has received some winter cheer. Be sure to hop in and check out what surprises are waiting...




(NOTE: This patch does not contain Salt Mines 2.0 yet. That content is still upcoming.)

The next patch is already being planned and worked towards, and will contain even more updates and substantial changes. See you guys in 2019!


You can now use matchmaking to find opponents, anywhere on the planet, from almost anywhere within the game!

To begin matchmaking, select it from either the Main Menu under Multiplayer, the pause menu during Training Mode, or the Pixel Lobby context menu (accessed by holding your D button).


Just hit one of these to join the queue and the system will begin looking for players. A banner will display at the top of the screen if you're in the matchmaking queue, and the matchmaking system will search for opponents.



Once a match has been found, to accept a match, use your Utility 1 button, and to decline a match, press your Utility 2 button. Right now, the only option available is Casual.

Even though this is only Casual Matchmaking, there is a hidden skill rating in the background to ensure fair, balanced matches with opponents of equal skill. Over time, it will learn your skill based on wins and losses against other players. A Ranked Matchmaking queue, with visual ranking points and tiers, will be added in a later update. Until then (and ofcourse after then), we have a....





After every battle you play online from the pixel lobby or through matchmaking, you will now gain exp. You will gain bonuses based on match performance and difficulty, which will help you level up even faster! For now, the levels are linear and rewards are absent. In the future we will be adding milestones and various rewards which may include palettes, hats, artwork and some other fun and/or silly things. Much like our players, the system itself will level up as we move forward!

aaaah, filling up bars can be so satisfying. A match well fought, too!

• Fixed several missing hurtboxes during air throw recovery of certain characters
  
• Both fighters are now able to play their intro animations in sequence
  
• The opponent will now respond if the speaking character's intro is considered to be of 'short' or 'medium' length
  
• Character specific intros are now a thing (81 new lines of dialogue!)
  
• Randomization of intros in general should now properly, consistently work in online play when hitting rematch
  
• All characters now have proper victory animations
  
• Cross Canter advantage on grounded hit has been reduced a bit
  
• Cross Canter now always does 350 damage, whether or not it's a counterhit
  
• Red health now tanks chip damage before regular health
  
• Pushblock continues to function as it always has (chips health and converts it to red health), but at 300 health and lower it now totally negates lifebar damage
  
• Fixed an issue where preblock could become throwable
  
• Attacks that force standing on hit now also force standing on block (This does not affect how you block, only where your hurtboxes exist)
  
• Throw teching in the air no longer fails to reset combo ingredients (Such as groundbounces, staggers, etc.)
  
• Supers now ignore the OTG 'popup' state on first hit as a general rule, rather than certain exceptions

• Magic Headbuck is now always a counterhit when thrown, as intended
  
• Now has character specific intros
  
• Now has proper win animations
  
• Now finally has expressions on a ton of animations
  
• Rope animations are no longer cardboard
  
• Ropes have reduced recovery time
  
• The first few frames of 6B now have grounded hitboxes
  
• 6B startup increased slightly
  
• 6B slides forward a tiny bit before leaving the ground
  
• 6A has a new animation
  
• 6A now whiffs distant crouching opponents

• Fixed a case where the startup of Ice Cyclone could potentially allow Velvet to block an attack
  
• Now has proper win animations
  
• Now has character specific intros
  
• Shatter A and B have updated animations/expressions
  
• Shatter C has a new animation

• Fixed oversight that allowed Fred to be usable during pushblock
  
• Now has character specific intros
  
• Now has a proper win animation
  
• Fixed yet another case where the hitbox could seperate from the graphic with Magic Trap
  
• Magic Teleport no longer steals meter from pets and projectiles
  
• Fel Sparks deal less damage
  
• Fel Sparks now all deal the same amount of JD, grounded or not
  
• Magic Sparks deal less damage overall
  
• Magic Sparks deal additional JD
  
• All Sparks deal additional JDG
  
• Super meter requirements increased
  
• Super meter gain through reading now ramps up over time, with a capped maximum speed
  
• j.2C now ground bounces grounded opponents
  
• j.2C no longer has such a significantly larger hitbox at the beginning of the attack
  
• Can no longer meter steal when the opponent is KO'd

• Teleport C should more consistently aim for the front of the opponent
  
• Gifts cause less blockstun to airborne opponents
  
• Smother should no longer be capable of eating ground techs
  
• It should no longer be possible to be grabbed out of Teleport from offscreen
  
• Air throw no longer causes hard knockdown
  
• Smother camera no longer freezes/focuses on opponent when it hits
  
• Smother leaves paprika slightly further away from the opponent
  
• Smother on hit recovery increased
  
• Now has character specific intros
  
• Now has proper win animations

• Closed up a few remaining cases that could potentially allow pom to control certain puppies while in pushblock
  
• Big Papa is no longer vulnerable during the summon animation
  
• The last hit of Stampede now launches more horizontal than vertical
  
• The last hit of Stampede has less hitstop
  
• Fixed even more cases that allowed Big Papa to show up on screen twice
  
• All remaining exceptions and workarounds to STILL be able to call up multiple big papas...have finally been destroyed.
  
• Now has character specific intros
  
• Now has proper win animations
  
• Fixed a ton of inconsistencies that allowed some grounded puppies to get stuck in the air for extended periods of time
  
• j.C now spins through the active frames more slowly
  
• Normals should no longer interfere with puppy commands if pressed on the same frame
  
• Big Momma and Papa no longer come to the foreground to cover players, now only Momma will do so when readying her counter
  
• Big Papa should no longer have a chance of getting stuck in a loop if pom gets counterhit

• Ran Shao Feng now properly only reduces Tianhuo's damage output, rather than also reducing incoming damage (!!!!!!)
  
• Fixed miscalculations causing incorrect damage reduction near the beginning of Ran Shao Feng combos
  
• Men Shao Ti no longer locks up grounded opponents if the second hit is the first one to strike them
  
• Flips now have a grounded startup animation
  
• j.A collision box now matches j.:B:'s
  
• 7D startup time now matches the other versions, but retains its strike invulnerability
  
• 7D now travels a slightly shorter distance horizontally
  
• Blocked Volcanic Bash no longer continues the attack
  
• Ran Shao Feng now allows Tianhuo to control her horizontal position during Volcanic Crash
  
• Volcanic Crash leaves Tianhuo closer to the opponent
  
• Now has character specific intros
  
• Now has a proper win animation
  
• 2B no longer forces standing
  
• Hitstun/Knockdown animations have been updated with many more inbetween frames

• AI has been updated
  
• Now has a dedicated air attack
  
• Single hit, causes stagger to grounded
  
• Can now jump cancel grounded basic attacks
  
• Now has a super
  
• Max supermeter is 1 bar

• AI has been updated
  
• Jump Arc is now tighter
  
• Now has a dedicated air attack
  
• Multi-hit, causes tumble
  
• Can now jump cancel non-grab basic attacks on hit
  
• Now has a super
  
• Max supermeter is 1 bar

• AI has been updated
  
• Now has a dedicated air attack
  
• Single hit, causes groundbounce
  
• Can now jump cancel Tail Sweep on hit
  
• Now has a super
  
• Multi-hit, Causes higher damage than normal in the form of red health
  
• Poisons afterwards, continuing to expand the red health until the effect ends or until snake is hit
  
• Max supermeter is 1 bar

• AI has been updated
  
• Hurtboxes given a pass to prevent rapid size changes during neutral/movement
  
• Now has a dedicated air attack
  
• Single hit, Causes stagger on grounded, Groundbounce on airborne
  
• Can now jump cancel non-grab basic attacks on hit
  
• Now has a super
  
• Max supermeter is 1 bar

• If Velvet gets hit by another Velvet's level 2, some specials may act particularly weird/disappear.
  
• It is still possible for Tianhuo to occasionally lose momentum during some airdash cancels