Feb 3, 2021

Simplode Suite - Yahm0n

2021-02-02 - Released Version 1.1.1.389

To avoid confusion, the Free Trial segment of the Welcome screen is now hidden if you have unlocked every package.
Reduced memory usage of the menu ring by loading each ring on demand. If the memory management strategy is set to Maximum Performance, the ring will be preloaded as before.
Reduced memory usage when the menu ring is closed. If the memory management strategy is set to Maximum Performance, the ring will remain in memory for faster access.
It is now possible to open multiple separate ring menus simultaneously. It can be accessed in the (...) menu of the flyout for a menu under (🔾*) New Ring Menu, which will launch that menu as a new ring.
Fixed an error that could occur when exiting the application.
Fixed issue with weather tray icons not being visible if more color icons are turned off.
Fixed issue when attempting to open Simplode Suite when Simplode Suite is already open. The cancel button now properly closes the new launch attempt.
Slightly optimized glow effects by removing unused code.
Fixed issue where reloading icons could cause the tool to go become temporarily unresponsive and use excessive amounts of memory.
Changing the glow icon intensity setting or glow icon effect enabled setting will now reload all icons.
Added the Caps Lock Overload feature. If enabled, the caps lock key is overloaded. Holding the caps lock key will activate both the Windows key and the control key. This can give you quicker access to more hotkey choices in most applications that support custom hotkeys. This will also block caps lock from being enabled.

Feb 3, 2021

Build v1.2 - Laboratory Map, Twitch Drops, Fixes and Balancing

Sector's Edge - Vercidium

This update's a big one!

Fixes:
- Fixed upside down flag icons in the minimap
- Fixed crash when loading a map with an invalid texture name
- The subscribed map list can now be scrolled
- Landing Power can no longer kill dead people
- Fixed mods disappearing from loadouts
- Fixed personal health not updating sometimes
- The flag will no longer fall into oblivion when dropped outside the map boundary
- Fixed missing players on the scoreboard when joining from a party invite
- Fixed muzzle flash positions
- Combat Shotgun choke now resets correctly on death
- Fixed not being able to redeploy after capturing a zone in BRK
- Fixed single-block digging on custom maps
- Fixed auto-recoil-reset on single-shot weapons
- Fixed some errors that caused the game to freeze
- Scavenger and Extraction mods are now included in randomised Static loadouts
- Fixed incorrect bullet hit sounds on Crashed Freighter terrain
- Fixed external Scanner reload animation
- SMG/LMG/Assault Rifle recoil no longer gets stuck at certain angles
- Fixed large black squares on the minimap
- Fixed 4v2 "Teams are balanced" in the Arena
- Fixed the Aegis and Helix match count achievements

Changes:
- Default field of view increased from 80 to 90
- cfgirder replaced with rwgirder

Additions:
- Players appear on the minimap for 1 second after shooting. This will help overall with visibility+awareness and make it easier to track campers
- Stealth mod levels reduce minimap visibility time after shooting to 750ms, 500ms and 250ms
- Emblem and animated killcam for content creators
- Laboratory Map
- LMG jamming animation
- New Twitch Drop campaign with the Grid weapon skin and tier 1 Aegis/Helix tags!

Balancing:
- Double Barrel per-pellet damage increased from 7 to 9
- Double Barrel full damage distance reduced from 6 to 2 blocks
- Double Barrel has 25% less recoil when ADS
- Combat Shotgun movement bloom penalty increased by 20%
- Combat Shotgun choke resets 50% faster when sprinting

Optimisations:
- Particle system memory and processing optimisations
- Multithreading optimisations
- Chunk meshing optimisations
- Networking memory optimisations
- Chunk meshing optimisations and better multithreading system
- Improved voxel texture quality

Feb 3, 2021

Update notes b.112

Down Ward - Fisholith

Gable scurries her way through some puzzly heart blocks. :)

Hi all. This update (112) and the next one I'm currently working on are focused on refining a bunch of Down Ward's rough areas, in UI, mechanics, and levels.

Below I've listed some of the notable changes in 112.

Wide view default

The camera mode is now "Wide" by default, and the original "Wide" menu item has been replaced with a GB-Res option, that zooms in to 160x144 GameBoy resolution.

(Note that in the zoomed in GB-Res mode, the game will still use all of your screen, rather than cropping to 160x144. This mode scales up the game by the largest integer amount that will fit the 160x144 GB resolution in your monitor. This gives you the option of playing at GB pixel scale, but with full widescreen support. The menu option just below "GB-res" is "GB Frame" which will letterbox the screen to exactly 160x144, if you want to try out the classic pixel count of the GB LCD panel. Also, because Down Ward was initially created for a GameBoy-themes game jam, this is the original resolution the game ran in. I've kept this option in mostly for fun.)

Music update

I've adjusted, and recomposed some elements of the music, added a few instruments, and trimmed a few elements I felt didn't quite fit. I've also done some additional work since the 112 update that will be out in the next update.

Picture of music things happening... Specifically the mixer rack for the Down Ward theme. :)

Audio volume

The Sound and Music volume now both start at a quieter default volume. They're both set to the quieter 2nd quick-cycle volume step, instead of the 3rd step.
(Just a note: The N and M keys quick-cycle the sound and music volume respectively. Each has 4 volume steps, 0%, 12%, 35%, and 70% at the loudest. In the sound menu you can set the volume all the way up to 100% if needed.)

Level Color Palettes

I've updated almost all level palettes for better contrast. Some have completely new colors that I think work a bit better. For most I wanted to try getting the darkest color a little darker, if it was on the foggy side, which quite a few were.

Stack (level 10)

I fixed a potential stuck state on the level "Stack" where it was theoretically possible for a player to lock themselves in a section of the level. Fortunately, given the pretty roundabout way it worked, I don't think it would be easy to do by accident, but I also didn't want a player to get stuck while exploring around and experimenting with stuff, so I worked out a fix. When working with sliding blocks and switches that can only be accessed from certain directions, or which shouldn't be accessible depending on the states of other switches, building a level that can't ever trap a player is a puzzle in itself. :)

Arbourfringe Gate (secret level 1)

I've rearranged a decent amount of "Arbourfringe Gate". It's now less linear and allows access to the upper gallery from either the left or right of the outdoor portion of the level. The long heart block bridge can be retracted from below now, so it opens up a fairly different alternate approach to the level.

The first feather in the cage just outside the starting room is now accessible via a nearby switch. This gives players a much more forgiving introduction to the arc owl specters.

Gable faces an arc owl.

Likewise, the Mantle has been moved to the starting room, so it's much easier to remember where you need to go to enable saving partial progress.

Arbourfringe Dungeon (secret level 2)

In "Dungeon", the one safety block you could raise in the horizontal flight corridor has been expanded to three blocks, and is quite a bit more forgiving. This area has been one of the hardest in the game since nearly the first version. It still is if you don't partake of the safety blocks, but even with the optional one-block island, it was pretty treacherous. This addition should make the level much less of a hard gate on the rest of the secret levels. A few other areas have been opened up a bit for more fluid platforming.

Labyrinth (secret level 4)

I've added blade prisms to the "Labyrinth" level, and integrated them into some of the puzzly stuff. I've also added the blade prisms to the diagonal heart block area (seen in the gif at the top). The original razorvine on the switch made for some somewhat awkward platforming, which the blade prisms resolved. Several tight areas have been opened up to make moving around in them more fluid. For the brutally hard vertical flight gauntlet at the far upper right of the level, I've restructured it to include several switches and heart blocks that can be used to help you along. Though, if a player is so inclined, they can still "iron-bird" all the way up without any heart block support, if they are angling for a speedrun.

I'm working on another game update now, which should be out shortly.

Take care all. :)

Feb 3, 2021

[Battle Star] Maintenance Notice

Battle Star - jojo-alioth

Good day to everyone! We will be performing a scheduled maintenance on Thursday, 4th February 2021, from 2:00pm to 5:00pm (GMT+8). Please note that the game will be down during this period.

Maintenance Compensation
- 2 Energy Supplies and 100 Diamonds will be sent to your in-game mailbox after the maintenance ends.

Event Updates

Event 1 – New Year Tale
1. Event Period: Feb 4th 2021 – Feb 24th 2021
2. The special event arrives – “New Year Tale”!
3. Obtain Lucky Word from the event stages to exchange for [Empress of Liquor] Costume and Avatar, [Spring Radiance] Costume, [Samurai] Costume, New Year Gear Shards, Elder God's Gaze Supply Chest (L), advanced Biochips, and other rewards at the Spring Store!

Event 2 – Elder God's Gaze Supply Chest
1. Event Period: Feb 4th 2021 – Feb 24th 2021
2. Increased chances to obtain Ashanti’s weapons and gear, including the gear set [Great Old Ones], the T3 weapon [Chaos Origin], and the T3 gear set [Last Echo] from the Elder God's Gaze Supply Chest.
3. [Great Old Ones] Set Effect: Ashanti transforms into a demon god. Her basic attacks deal elemental damage and Root the target. Also, she gains the ultimate skill: Vicious Tentacles that strike enemies with swarms of tentacles.
4. [Chaos Origin] Weapon Skill: Upon entering battle, Ashanti stands in the middle of the battlefield and creates a Chaotic Land for 4 turns on where she stands (creates another Chaotic Land after the 9th turn). Also Binds Ashanti on the Chaotic Land. When Ashanti is on the Chaotic Land, she receives no more than 5% of her Max HP as damage for each attack. Deals true damage to nearby enemies, heals Ashanti for 30% of the damage dealt, and inflicts a stack of Soul Captive to a random target (stacks up to 5 times). Each stack of Soul Captive reduces the target's Basic Attack Effect by 15%. Soul Captive is dispelled when the target uses their ultimate skill. For each stack of Soul Captive that was dispelled, the target receives (5% of the target's current HP) damage.
5. [Last Echo] Set Effect: Gains the ultimate skill, Soul Destruction: Deals true damage to nearby enemies, heals Ashanti for 30% of the damage dealt, and inflicts 2 stacks of Soul Captive to the target. Basic Attack receives bonus damage, and triggers again after inflicting Soul Captive. Chaotic Land increases Ashanti's Basic Attack Resist by 50%. When Ashanti moves out of the Chaotic Land, she will create another Chaotic Land at the end of the turn.

Event 3 – New Nightingale Gear Set
1. Obtain the T2 weapon [Twin Lotus] and T2 gear set [Destiny Limit] from the Gear Exchange.
2. [Twin Lotus] Weapon Skill: Heals nearby allies. If the HP of the nearby ally with the lowest HP is ≤50% before the enemy takes an action or after Nightingale gets attacked, activates emergency mode and heals that ally and causes them to suffer after-effects, reducing their healing received by 33% for 7 turns (stacks up to 3 times). After 3 stacks of after-effects, emergency mode will no longer be activated.
3. [Destiny Limit] Set Effect: At the start of the turn, inflicts Fervor on targets suffering from after-effects. This increases the targets' Attack by 25% and Crit Chance by 25%. However, the targets' Attack Resist gets reduces by 25% for 7 turns.

Event 4 – More Supply Chests
1. Event Period: Feb 11th 2021 – Feb 17th 2021
2. The following will be available:
- [Fran] Something Mysterious Supply Chest
- Fuma Killzone Supply Chest
- [Celeste] Bloodlust Rose Supply Chest
- [Angela] Ranged Strike Supply Chest
- [Kagura] Universal Nature Supply Chest

Event 5 – Lunar New Year Login Rewards
1. Event Period: Feb 11th 2021 – Feb 17th 2021
2. Login to receive [Happy New Year] Avatar, Diamonds, and Modified Reverse Plug-ins!

Event 6 – Lantern Festival Login Rewards
1. Event Period: Feb 26th 2021 – Mar 4th 2021
2. Login to receive Infinite War Challenge Tomes, Diamonds, Time Stamps, and Costume Coupons!

Event 7 – New Dynamic Costumes
1. Event Period: Feb 4th 2021 – Feb 24th 2021
2. The following will be available in the Best Seller Store:
- Cersei’s [Halloween Witch]
- Fran’s [New year eve's Snow]
- Ling’s [Sky Sword Suit]
- Helen’s [Festive Elf]
- Shion’s [Hell Guard]
- Julia’s [Heaven and Earth]

Event 8 – New Year Lucky Bag
1. Event Period: Feb 4th 2021 – Feb 24th 2021
2. Buy the [New Year Lucky Bag] to obtain a random T3 weapon from the Best Seller Store.

Event 9 – Store Resets
1. 1st Recharge Bonus for Diamonds in the Recharge Store will reset.
2. Selected items in the Diamond Store will reset.