Apr 9, 2021

Trials of Fire - Whatboy Games

Trials of Fire 1.0 Release

Hi everyone,

This update sees Trials of Fire transitioning out of Early Access and into full release. It’s been an exciting ride to get here with our debut game and we’re glad that so many of you are playing and enjoying Trials of Fire already.

Along with the latest update, we also have a digital Artbook and Map as well as the game’s official Soundtrack available from Steam. If you prefer you can get all 3 in the collector’s Inferno Bundle.

As always, we want to express our thanks for the awesome support of our Early Access community who were so instrumental in getting us to this point - both with your support and feedback. It's no understatement to say we wouldn't be here without you!

Also note that along with the 1.0 release, we are resetting the game's leaderboards to give everyone a fighting chance with all the changes since the last leaderboard reset.

Thanks!
Whatboy Games

Trials of Fire 1.005 Release Notes

This update marks us moving out of Early Access and into full release.

Update highlights include a brand new playable Hero, a rework to the Assassin’s Stealth mechanic and a host of updates to item based cards.

New Hero – The Occultist

Communes with otherworldly powers to deal damage or buff your party. Beware though, such power always comes with a price.
Ranged damage dealer or support character.
Many of their abilities will do damage or place negative named effects on themself, but others will grow stronger as they take damage or get more afflicted.
Has the unique ability to remove cards from the battle to thin your deck on the fly or remove weaknesses.

Instant Cards

Many created cards have now been re-branded as ‘Instant’.
These function largely the same, as before, but are now removed from the game automatically when ending your turn (and do not count towards your 1 held card limit).
Instant is a new keyword with the following effects:
- May not be Recycled or Redrawn.
- Automatically removed from the battle at the end of your turn.
This keyword replaces the text on many cards.

Stealth Rework

We’ve reworked the Stealth named effect to better suit the Assassin’s playstyle.
Stealth now has no immediate effect and ticks down like any other named effect.
If you can maintain stealth until the start of your turn, it triggers some powerful new abilities.
Stealth effect:
- Cannot be targeted by enemies unless they are adjacent.
- Every time you are hit, lose 1 stack of Stealth.
- At the start of your turn, gain +2 to Melee and Ranged damage for the turn and add a Move Unseen card to your hand.
Move Unseen token card – ‘Move 1 + your Stealth stacks, ignoring enemies.’

Hero Changes

The Spirit Speaker now has a Heavy Armour slot instead of Light Armour to allow for a bit of extra tankiness.
The Assassin no longer has access to Heavy Armour to slightly reduce their tankiness.

Language Update

Russian localisation now fully implemented.

Profile Management

You may now have up to 4 separate save profiles on your machine to allow other household members to play on one machine.

Item Card Review

We’ve updated a lot of the weaker item cards to make sure more items are viable in high-level builds.
Most of these buffs come in the form of powerful, conditional effects to boost the cards based on how you play them. This

Card Changes

‘Fly’ – Changed effect to, ‘Move to any free space. Any Magic Damage cards in hand gain +1 to damage.’
‘Quick Shot’ – Changed effect to, ‘Ranged Attack 1, then draw a card. Deal +2 damage if your previous card played was a Move card.’
‘Quick Thinking’ – Changed basic effect to, ‘Look at the top 3 cards of your deck and choose one to draw. Refresh your Talent.’
‘Chaos Missiles’ – Changed effect to, ‘Deal 3 Magic Damage to all enemies within 3 spaces. Deal +2 damage if you have 5+ Defence.
‘Wing Smash’ – Now deals Magic Damage.
‘Reel In’ – Changed effect to, ‘Ranged Attack 1 then Pull the target 3 Spaces. Afterwards, if the target is adjacent to you, draw a card.’
‘Lunge’ – Changed effect to, ‘Move 1 to Target, Melee Attack 3. Every time you play a card, increase movement by 1.’
‘Strike Through’ – Changed effect to, ‘Melee Attack 3 or Ranged Attack 2. Also hits anyone directly behind the target. If you hit 2 targets, gain 1 Willpower.’
‘Sleep Dart’ – Changed effect to, ‘Ranged Attack 2. For every 2 damage dealt, shuffle a temporary Fatigue card into target's deck.’
‘Dark Rite’ – Changed effect to, ‘Melee Attack 2. If you deal damage, take 1 raw damage and gain +1 to Magic Damage for the rest of the battle.’
‘Reach’ – Increased cost to 1 (from 0).
‘Armoured Advance’ – Changed effect to, ‘Move 2, Defend 3 and gain 1 Willpower. Shuffle an Exhausted card into your deck.’
‘Wide Sweep’ - Changed effect to, ‘Melee Attack 5 on all adjacent enemies. If you hit 2 or more targets, draw a Defend card from your deck or discard pile.’
‘Fearsome Shout’ – Changed effect to, ‘All enemies within Range 2 are inflicted with Exposed and discard a card. Gain 1 Willpower for every WEAKNESS card in hand.’
‘Rage’ – Changed effect to, ‘Draw 2 cards. Gain 1 Willpower for every WEAKNESS card in hand. Shuffle a Fatigue into your deck.’
‘Detonate’ – Reduced cost to 1 and changed effect to, ‘Destroy a friendly Summoned character and deal Magic Damage to all adjacent characters equal to the health of the destroyed unit.
’Piercing Arrow’ – Changed effect to, ‘Unblockable Ranged Attack 3. If you spent 0 Willpower for this card, remove Defence equal to the damage dealt.’
‘Phosphor Arrow’ – Changed effect to, ‘Ranged Attack 5. If the target is Burning, deal 3 Magic Damage to all enemies within 2 spaces.’
‘Coordinate’ – Changed effect to, ‘Target other friendly Hero draws 1 card. If the target has any named effects, Activate yourself.’
‘Improvise’ – Changed effect to, ‘Target friendly Hero upgrades a card in hand and reduces its cost by 1.’
‘Last Stand’ – Increased defence bonus to 2 for each point of health below 10 (from 1).
‘Aimed Shot’ – Changed effect to, ‘Ranged Attack 8. This card cannot be played. Cancel this effect at the end of your turn or when you play a Power on yourself.’
‘Grit’ – Changed effect to, ‘Gain Protected 2 then Defend 2.’
‘Think Ahead’ – Reduced cost to 0 and changed effect to, ‘Shuffle 2 cards from Shiv, Simple Shot and Guard into your deck. The next time you draw cards this turn, draw 1 extra card.’
‘Insult’ (Warlord) – Changed effect to, ‘Inflict Defenceless 2 to an enemy character or grant Inspired 2 to a friendly character. Inflict +1 stack for every WEAKNESS card in hand.’
‘Intimidate’ (Warrior) – Changed effect to, ‘Inflict Weakened 2 on all enemies within 2 spaces. Inflict +1 stack for every WEAKNESS card in hand.’
‘Unstable Flask’ (Alchemist) – Changed upgraded effect to, ‘Choose 1 from 3 random BASIC cards to create in your hand and reduce its Willpower cost by 1. Then do this a second time.’
‘Elixir of Power’ (Alchemist) – Increased card options to 4 (from 2).
‘Run+’ – Changed effect to, ‘Move 4 and gain 1 Willpower. Activate.’
‘Momentum’ (Warrior) – Changed effect to, ‘Defend 2. If your last card played was a Melee Attack card, draw a card.’
‘Stalk’ – Increased Resilience to 3 (from 1).
‘Battle Ready’ – Increased cost to 4 (from 3).
‘Teamwork’ – Increased cost to 1 (from 0).
‘Sneak’ (Assassin) – Now grants Stealth 2 (up from 1).
‘Hidden Shot’ (Assassin) – Now grants Stealth 2 (up from 1).
‘Smoke Bomb’ (Assassin) – Now grants Stealth 2 (up from 1) and increased cost to 2 (from 1).
‘Shadow Strike’ (Assassin) – Changed effect to, ‘Ranged Attack 2 then move to the closest free space adjacent to the target. If you have Stealth, gain 1 Willpower.’
‘Opening’ (Assassin) – Reduced damage to 2 (from 3).
‘Low Profile’ (Assassin) – Increased cost to 1 (from 0).

Boss Changes

Increased the Willpower of the Red Dragon.
Reduced the Willpower of the Planar.
Reworked Blue Dragon deck a bit to increase challenge slightly.

Endless Odyssey

Standard (non) boss encounters will now ‘level up’ with every 5 objectives completed.
Enemies’ health will increase by 100% and they will draw 1 extra card each turn.
Enemy numbers will be reduced by 50%.
This is to stop the difficulty of these encounters being limited by the 9 unit maximum and to introduce more variety for those players fighting on in this mode.
Random (non-objective) boss encounters will also now increase in difficulty the further in you go.

Cataclysm Changes

Cataclysm 6 effect is now, ‘Bosses gain an additional 15% health and Power resilience bonus per Tier.’ Top Tier bosses now have a 200% bonus to Power resilience.

Apr 9, 2021

Monster Sanctuary Update 1.1

Monster Sanctuary - Sersch

Dear Monster Keepers,

We are happy to bring you the first major post-launch update for Monster Sanctuary!
This update is launching today for Steam. For consoles, we’re still in the submission process and the Release is delayed until April 20th for those Platforms. We are very sorry for that and we hope to be able to deliver future updates on consoles without delay.

New Game Plus

The first of the two big new features coming to Monster Sanctuary: New Game Plus mode! This mode is unlocked once you have completed the main story content of the game at least once. When you choose NewGame+ from the starting menu, you have to select any of your existing save games - this will determine the extra Monsters and items available to you at the start. You can then start your new save file on the same save slot or on any other save slot.

Here are the full details of New Game Plus:

All Monsters and many items from the chosen save file will be transferred to your new save file.
Monsters are reset to Level 1, but keep their Shift.
Equipment upgrades are removed.
Items that are not carried over: Crystal Shards, Craft Materials, Food, Key/Story Items, Level 40 Badges, Craft & Reward Boxes, Battle Items. These items are converted to gold on the new save file.
Inactive Monsters level up with your active ones until they reach their level from the previous save file.
Explore abilities can't be used until you encounter Monsters which can use them.
Similarly, you can only donate Monsters and eggs to the army which you have already encountered.
Some tutorial texts are skipped.

Casual & Master difficulty modes

We are adding two new difficulty modes to Monster Sanctuary (with the current difficulty of the game taking the role of the "Normal" difficulty that is chosen by default). They are called "Casual" and "Master" mode.

Here are the details of how these two new modes work:

On Casual, wild Monsters have less health & do less damage. In Keeper Encounters, enemy Monster equipment upgrade level is reduced by 1.
On Master, wild Monsters have more health, do more damage, and have many additional skills. In Keeper Encounters, enemy Monster equipment upgrade level is increased by 1.
The difficulty can be changed at any time by going to the options menu. It can be changed mid-game.

The new Casual mode aims to alleviate the difficulty curve of our game. However, it's only a slight decrease in difficulty, which means that players will still need to engage with our skill systems and think about their strategy in order to succeed.

The new Master mode was primarily designed with New Game Plus in mind. It is balanced towards providing veteran players, who have loads of additional options available to them thanks to NG+, a new, harder challenge. While it is technically possible to beat the game on Master mode with a regular save file, we highly recommend using this mode in conjunction with New Game Plus (preferably using an optimized team of six Shifted Monsters).

New PVP Matchmaking

This update also comes with a variety of changes aimed towards making the PVP mode more enjoyable! For one, it comes with a new PVP Matchmaking system.
Here are the nitty-gritty details of how the new matchmaking works:

The matchmaking takes the level of your 3 highest Monsters in the party into consideration (to prevent the potential abuse of having a low level backline).
It also takes into consideration the average equipment upgrade level of those Monsters.
Outside of a certain level range (based on Monster level + equipment level), players are not able to match.
The matchmaking also takes your PVP rating into account.
Initially, the matchmaking will only let players within a certain rating range match against each other. After a certain time in queue, you are put into "extended search", allowing you to match against others who are also in "extended search".
Players who have a rating of 1300 or above start in "extended search" by default (to prevent higher ranks of the ladder of not finding opponents).
You're also able to manually configure when your game goes into "extended search" (instantly/30sec/1min/2min/3min/5min/never).

New PVP Season

With this first update patch, we’ll also start a new PVP Season in Monster Sanctuary. This means that all players are starting in Bronze league again, which will allow you to once again get rewards for ascending to the higher PVP leagues.

This update features many balancing changes of Monsters, skill trees, and skills - almost all of which were made explicitly with the PVP meta in mind. We hope that these changes will shake up the current team compositions and open up new competitive options.

Balancing Changes

Monster changes

Steam Golem: gains Multi Burn + Fire Shield, loses double impact
Sutsune: Dark Shift gets -1 base Defense
Spectral Toad: gains 'Attack Plus', loses 'Combo Buffing', Light Shift gets -1 base Health
Qillin: gains 'Punishment' + 'Multi-shock' + 'Health Plus', loses 'Double Impact'
Crystal Snail: gains 'Aging' + 'Observe' + 'Volatile Shield' + 'Critical Break' + 'Sabeteur's Shield' + 'Multi Poison' + 'Restoring Shield', loses 'Earth Affinity' + 'Defense Overload' + 'Mass Protector' + 'Channeling Balance' + 'Shieldcast'
Ninki Nanka: gains 'Assistance' + 'Multi Sidekick' + 'Supply' + 'Healing Shield' +1 base Mana, loses 'Combo Buffing' + 'Mana Focus' + 'Transfusion' + 'Improved Mana Regen'
Ninki: gains +1 Base Mana
Vertraag: loses 1 instance of 'Purify'
Troll: gains +1 base defense and -1 base attack
Promethean: gains 'Chain Reaction' now
Changeling: gains 'Hexed Touch' and 'Death Blow', loses 'Mana Plus' and 'Defense Plus'
Akhlut: Has all 5 tiers of 'Heal' now, gains 'Observe' and his shift stat bonuses got newly reallocated
Vodinoy: Is a 'Warrior' in addition to its other types now
Toxiquus: Both shifts get +1 base Mana
Yowie: gains 'Protector' and 'Purify', loses 'Transfusion'
Goblin King: gains 'Crit Chance Plus' and two 'Crit Damage Plus'
Magmamoth: Dark shift gains +1 base attack and +1 base magic, Light shift got +1 base attack
Elderjel: loses -1 Base Mana, gains +1 Base Mana on Light shift
Imori: Gains Toxic Slash, loses Blessed Strike

Skill & equipment changes
'Armory' now increases all stats of accessories of warriors (except secondary effects)
'Weaponry' now increases all stats of weapons of warriors (except secondary effects), value increased to 25% (from 15%)
'Poison Eater' also counts as a heal action now, but the additional hits only do 20% damage now (instead of 30%)
'Magic Attack' damage increased to 6*60% (from 6*50%)
'Cookie Mushroom' damage bonus increased to 3% (from 2.5%)
Decreased 'Scythe' damage and crit chance values slightly (end values: 200 attack, 225 magic, 7% crit chance, 25% crit damage)
'Katana' has slightly increased attack and crit chance values now (end values: 200 attack, 15% crit chance, 20% crit damage)
'Hook' and 'Harp' now grant full heal / heal bonus when equipped in the off hand (this makes all weapons provide full secondary effect when equipped in the offhand now)
'Large Shield' now provides full defense value when equipped in the off hand
'Curse Chain' debuff spread chance reduced to 35% (from 40%)
'Blood Magic' values reduced slightly to 35%/35% (instead of 40%/40%)
'Bleed' damage against wild monsters now increases the execution score (by half the amount normal damage does)
'Combat Guard' damage reduction value increased to 7.5% (from 5%)
'Magnetize' redirect chance reduced to 25% (from 35%) but the chance increases when the attacker has multiple shocks (by 12.5% for every additional shock)
'Electrolytes' buff remove chance increased to 75% (from 50%)
'Polluted Water' debuff bonus increased to 10% (from 8%)
'Assault Shield' shield value increased to 30% (from 25%)
'Shadow Proc' damage increased to 75% (from 60%)
'Enlighten' shift passive, 'Shared Sorcery' and other share buff passives now share the buff even when the sharing monster is already capped out on that buff.
'Hexed Touch' debuff chance increased to 40% (from 35%)
'Optimal Performance' damage reduction and debuff resistance reduced to 10% (from 15%)
Oculus 'Intelligent Swarm' reverted back to have 75% chance to apply a charge stack (instead of 100%)

Apr 9, 2021

X3: Farnham's Legacy Team Interview - Ketraar

X3: Albion Prelude - belgoray

X3: Farnham's Legacy is a new game in the X3 space game series. TRADE, FIGHT, BUILD, THINK in a living and breathing universe. It incorporates a new storyline and yet more additions to the open, free-form gameplay that forms the core of all X series games. X3: Farnham's Legacy is free to owners of X3: Albion Prelude and will be released on May 4th, 2021.

Over the next few weeks, as we build up to the release, we will be interviewing some of the project team members. Today we are kicking things off with Ketraar.

Q: Please briefly introduce yourself to the readers and tell us when, and how, you first came into contact with an X-game?

A: I am known as Ketraar in most places, both on and offline. I started out by playing X: Beyond the Frontier in 1999. I’ve always loved sci-fi, especially space themed - the likes of Stargate, Farscape and obviously Star Trek and Star Wars were a big part of my entertainment consumption. It was no surprise that I fell in love with XBTF as it provided the same type of escapism, but with me now ‘in control’ of at least parts of the narrative.

How did you end up on the team that has been working on X3: Farnham's Legacy for the past five years?

There are always things one could add or change in X games. I had been pitching some of them over the years, the ideas forum has a few examples. It was rather natural to jump on it when I was asked if I would like to pitch some of the ideas for a potential X3 Expansion. I always had a soft spot for the THINK aspect of X games and this would be a great opportunity to give it some TLC. So, after a few emails and a Skype call things just started rolling as people were brought in to join the project.

What was your personal motivation to work on this project? What makes the X3 series so special for you?

I think, in the end, its the fact that X games allow you to express yourself when you play the games, but probably even more so when you modify them. The ability to change things and create new experiences is something I find very interesting and X games, especially X3, has allowed me to do just that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8Z9YDCXbdM

We've already announced that X3: Farnham's Legacy will incorporate new exploration features that the player will need to use in order to find their way back to civilisation. Can you share some more details on that aspect of the game?

Exploration was always a sizeable part of any X game - you would need to visit systems to find the stations to trade, buy and equip ships. While this is still the case, a new tool is introduced that roughly points towards ‘interesting’ locations. This hopefully adds a more hands-on experience to exploring the galaxy, as it will uncover many things, from crates containing all sorts of things, to derelict ships that are not defined on static positions. Other locations, once found, will open up new sectors that contain who knows what! The Explorers Guild is another major portion of exploration (as the name obviously implies). Players will be able to interact with it and trade in their exploration ‘knowledge’ for many things - some very special.

Do you have a particular highlight from working on the project that you would like to share with readers?

One of the highlights during this project was in 2018 when I was allowed to visit Egosoft HQ. Not just meeting the people there, but also some of the X3FL team members - some I had known for many years, though only online. It was a great experience, several days talking about games with other people that liked games (almost) as much as I do. I felt like I belonged, almost normal. Yes that is the highlight I’d remember.

Any last message you'd like to give to X3 fans out there, with just under four weeks to go before the release of X3: Farnham's Legacy?

Well I hope they enjoy the game. It has many new features and additions - some may even throw the veterans and hopefully provide a new experience.

Thank you for the insights, dear Ketraar, and thank you for your work on X3: Farnham's Legacy!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/483330/X3_Farnhams_Legacy/

Apr 9, 2021

X3: Farnham's Legacy Team Interview - Ketraar

X3: Farnham's Legacy - belgoray

Q: Please briefly introduce yourself to the readers and tell us when, and how, you first came into contact with an X-game?

How did you end up on the team that has been working on X3: Farnham's Legacy for the past five years?

What was your personal motivation to work on this project? What makes the X3 series so special for you?

Do you have a particular highlight from working on the project that you would like to share with readers?

Any last message you'd like to give to X3 fans out there, with just under four weeks to go before the release of X3: Farnham's Legacy?

Well I hope they enjoy the game. It has many new features and additions - some may even throw the veterans and hopefully provide a new experience.

Thank you for the insights, dear Ketraar, and thank you for your work on X3: Farnham's Legacy!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/483330/X3_Farnhams_Legacy/

Apr 9, 2021

Signature Player Moves + Graphical / Gameplay Updates + More in Latest Update

Tennis World Tour 2 - Nacon

Hello,

We're introducing one of the largest patches seen for Tennis World Tour 2 yet, bringing in graphical improvements, gameplay changes, signature players moves for a number of pros on the roster and much more.

Ace Edition and Annual Pass owners will have a lot more to look forward to with the addition of the Champions Pack DLC which brings in the ATP Cup, adding 6 new players to the roster and new stadiums to play in.

Lastly, we're introducing an Esports mode which will allow you to run and create your own tournaments or join and compete on the courts of Tennis World Tour 2.

Read on for more details about the patch then dive in and let us know what you think!

Patch Notes

Doubles added to career mode.
15 new unique pro player animation profile styles have been added.
An integrated first time user experience has been added to ease the learning curve of Tennis World Tour 2
An Esports mode has been added to the game
Stability during online play has been improved
General performance has been improved
Player visuals have been updated and should feel a lot more realistic
Stadium visuals and lighting have been improved.
Increased polygons on the crowd and now have material maps and normal maps (better texture) for a look up to a similar level as the players.
Additional skill cards have been added
Content for Champions Pack. (Ace Edition / Annual Pass / Champions pack DLC owners only)
- The ATP Cup
- 6 additional players: Andy Murray, Donna Vekic, Marin Cilic, Justine Henin, Maria Sharapova and Diego Schwartzman
- 4 additional stadiums in London and Melbourne
- Extra official outfits and equipment

The Champions Pack is the latest DLC released for Tennis World Tour.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1455641/Tennis_World_Tour_2__Champions_Pack/

The Champions Pack is ALSO a part of the Tennis World Tour Annual Pass.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1397480/Tennis_World_Tour_2_Annual_Pass/