Nov 24, 2021

NARAKA: BLADEPOINT Update – November 25th , 2021

NARAKA: BLADEPOINT - 灵心酱

Dear players,
The servers of NARAKA: BLADEPOINT will be suspended for maintenance from11/24/2021 23:00 (UTC) to11/25/2021 03:00(UTC). We suggest that you log out in advance and enter the game again after the maintenance.
The details for this update are as follows:

New Duo Mode!
Duo mode is now available in Quick Match.

Hero Adjustments
I. Tarka Ji
1. The partywide Energy recovery effect of Tarka Ji's default ultimate talent [Blackout] now lasts for a set 30 seconds.
2. The partywide Attack buff of Tarka Ji's ultimate [Blackout: Frenzy] now lasts for a set 30 seconds.
//Dev Note: We want Tarka Ji to provide teammates with more reliable buffs. Now, when Tarka Ji manually turns off his ultimate or is slain, his buffs will continue to take effect.
3. When Tarka Ji activates his ultimate, his and his teammates' arms and legs gain a fiery effect. This will no longer be seen by enemies when invisible.
4. Adjusted the effects of [Burn], from “Deduct health and armor within 5 sec, and the healing effect will be reduced by 50%” to “Deduct health and armor at percentage within 5 sec, and the healing effect will be reduced by 50%”.
5. When Tarka Ji activates his ultimate, the hit during running and speeding down will no longer cause [Burn] effects on enemies.
II. Yueshan
1. Decreased the stagger duration of [Rampage] hit after Yueshan transformed in [Troop Decimation].
2. Optimized the hit determination of charged vertical attack [Dragontail] during Yueshan’s ultimate.
3. During Yueshan’s ultimate, adjusted the damage multiplier of charged vertical attack [Dragontail] from 848% to 734%, and adjusted the damage multiplier of charged horizontal attack [Leaping Slash] from 452% to 418%.
4.When Yueshan transforms in [Troop Decimation], the damage multiplier of [Rampage] is decreased from 30% + 60% to 20% + 30%.
//Dev Note: Yueshan, the Marquis of Eternia, seems to be overpowering after his debut on Morus Isle. So, we decreased the damage of some skills.

Weapon Adjustments
I. Spear
1. Slightly reduced the knockback distance of spear horizontal strike's first attack when charged. This should make it easier to follow a second attack.
2. Optimized the feel of following Uppercut Slash after the second attacks of spear horizontal or vertical strikes.
3. Won't take damage from sword energy during [Nezha's Might], and the sword energy can be broken by [Nezha's Might].
4. Damage Adjustments:
[Dragonslayer] - Increased the damage from 202% to 251%.
[Nezha's Might] - Adjusted the damage from 56%*2 + 83%*2 + 99%*2 to 51%*2 + 76%*2 + 105%*2.
//Dev Note: In both Solo and Trios, the usage rate of Spear is not as expected, thus we want players to be safer when activating [Nezha's Might], with more stable damage output.

II. Katana
1.Reduced the damage multiplier of crouching vertical strikes to 213% (was 250%).
//Dev Note: The crouching Uppercut Slash of Katana has the highest damage multiplier among all weapons’ Upper Slash, while maintaining super high performance. Thus, we slightly decreased its damage.
III. Dagger
1.Decreased the remaining time of the Focus after [Soulbreak].
//Dev Note: While maintaining the high attacking ability of [Soulbreak], we slightly increased the vulnerability of [Soulbreak] after the attack failed.
In-Game Adjustments
I. Added a New Rebirth Charm Item
1. Item Effect: Increases your party's Resurrections when purchased. Living members of your party may interact with a Soul Altar to revive their fallen allies.
2. Item Drop: Limited stock from Rift Dealers and the first two Morus' Blessings.
3. Purchase Restriction: Only a party with a fully dead member may purchase them. The available number of charms equals to the number of dead members.
4. Modes: It is currently available in The Herald's Trial and Quick Match.

II. Mechanisms & Interactable Objects
1. Added a new type of red mushroom.
2. Added a very small amount of a new interactable object for good luck—Koi.

III. Rich Resource Area Adjustments
1. Adjusted some remote trove spawn in certain locations, making them easier to spot.

IV. Added Soul Damage
1. When attacked while in soul status, duration of the soul status will be deducted depending on the attack.

V. Item Pick Up & Interaction Optimizations
1. When you fail to pick up or interact with an item, another nearby item will automatically be set as the target for your next pick-up action.

VI. Bloodsport Adjustments
1. Previously only the final was played as best of 3. Now all rounds will be played as best of 3.
2. During the preparation phase, players must now choose three sets of heroes and weapons for each round. Players will no longer be able to change the lineup before each round. However, you can change it during the waiting time after a win.
3. Added a feature that automatically records which heroes and weapons you've previously used in Bloodsport.
4. Optimized the lineup selection logic. When you repeatedly choose a certain hero or weapon, this hero or weapon's usage order will be automatically changed.
//Dev Note: We have made adjustments to Bloodsport's format and improved the lineup selection process. We hope that all heroes can enjoy the fighting more fluently in the Bloodsport!

VII. Bag Item Marker Adjustments
1. Marking an item in your bag will now send a brand-new message: "[Player ID] I have [XXX]". Consumables will also be shown together with the amount owned. Their teammates may then use the Request button to elicit that they want the item.

VIII. Performance Optimization
1. Optimized the complexity of some special effects, in order to improve the battle fluency.
2. Optimized the CPU concurrency performance of some game logics such as Grappling Hook, and increased the frame rate.
3. Optimized the compatibility of Intel 12th generation CPU cores, and increased the frame rate of the game running on the latest Intel 12th generation CPU.

Ⅸ. Controllers
1. Added the vibration triggered by Counterstrike combos and the second-stage charged attack of the bow.
Ⅹ. In-Game Quests
1. Changed the quest “Defeat enemy by igniting enemy Kurumi's healing zone” to “Defeat the enemy receiving the recovery buff from Kurumi's healing circle”.
Out-Game Adjustments
I. One-Hero-Once matching in the Herald’s Trial
The One-Hero-Once will be open for all ranks in The Herald's Trial. Teams can only have one of each hero in this mode, in order to ramp up the competition to a higher level.
II. We've adjusted the difficulty of some heroes' Cultivation Quests, taking them more in line with our expectations:
1. Reduced the required kill count of Viper Ning's "Kill 10 enemies with Swarms." to 8.
2. Reduced the required kill count of Kurumi Tsuchimikado's "Kill 10 enemies with Flamebringers." to 8.
3. Reduced the damage requirement for Matari, Tarka Ji, and Yoto Hime's "Deal 30,000 damage in a single The Survival match." to 25,000.

III. Score Optimization
1. When a player's Hero Score, Kill Score, or Survival Score is greater than their Rank Score, diminishing returns for score will be greater.

IV. Free Training Mode Adjustments
1. Now, opponents in the different Free Training modes will be equipped with armor of a certain quality:
Basic Training: Common;
Advanced Training & Integrated Training: Rare;
Aim Training: Epic;
Counter Training: Legendary.

V. Select Game Mode Menu
Optimized the Select Game Mode menu to make it easier to add new modes in the future.

VI. Season Statistics Interface
1. Optimized the Season Statistics interface.
2. Added seasonal statistics for The Bloodbath and Bloodsport.

VII. New Custom Lobby Features
1. Added the option to ban talent skills and ultimates for The Herald's Trial in custom lobbies.
2. Added the option to customize stat multipliers for all heroes for The Herald's Trial in custom lobbies.
Customizable stats: Health, Rage/s, Skill Cooldown & Remaining Skill Time.
VIII. Online State
1. The account will remain online by fault when players log in each time, and will no longer keep the former state.
Settings
I. Added Privacy Settings to Season Statistics
1. Added [Season Stats Settings] under Settings - Game - Privacy Settings. There you can choose whether other players may view your season statistics.

II. Added Ability to Swap Weapon with Mouse Scroll
1. Added the setting [Scroll Weapon Swap (Mouse & Keyboard)] under Settings - Game - Combat. There you can toggle whether to switch between your weapon slots with the mouse scroll.

III. Added Open Mic Setting
1. Added the [Open Mic] setting under Settings - Audio - Other Audio Settings. There you can toggle Open Mic on and off (you can still toggle this with the hotkey).

Store Updates
I. Added a New Pack
1. Added the new [Floral Scent] Pack. This pack contains the legendary Matari outfit [Floral Scent] and the exclusive Matari hairstyle [Morning Glory]. Original price: 3,200 Gold. Current price: 2,200 Gold.

II. Added New Outfit + Skin
Added the new Matari Legendary outfit [Floral Scent]. Original price: 2,400. Current price: 1,700 Gold.
2. Added the new legendary Katana skin [Soulbloom Gem]. Original price: 1,500 Gold. Current price: 1,250 Gold.
3. Added the new Matari hairstyle [Morning Glory]. Current price: 800 Gold.

III. Discount Info
1. Katana skin [Muramasa]. Original price: 500 Gold. Current price: 417 Gold.
2. Tarka Ji outfit [Ill Omen] is now back to its original price of 1,800 Gold.
3. Repeating Crossbow skin [Wind Blast] is now back to its original price of 1,500 Gold.
4. Tianhai outfit [Divine Garment of Lirik's Kingdom], Tarka Ji outfit [The Shroud of Magisterial Aim], and Temulch outfit [King of the Summit]. Original price: 2,000 Gold. Current price: 1,400 Gold.
5. Tianhai outfit [Lirik's Disciple], Tarka Ji outfit [Mortal Shroud], and Temulch outfit [Summit's Calling]. Original price: 300. Current price: 210 Gold.
6. Longsword skin [Fang of Nabi], Katana skin [Shroudslasher], and Greatsword skin [Summit's Edge]. Original price: 600. Current price: 420 Gold.
7. Accessory [Peaks], [Biding Serpent], and [Harmony]. Original price: 400. Current price: 280 Gold.
8. Emote bubble [1G], [Shroud], [Lirik]. Original price: 200 Gold. Current price: 140 Gold.

Bug Fixes
I. Hero-related Bugs
1. Fixed a location error for enemies when grabbed and smashed into the ground by Tianhai's default ultimate talent [Titan's Call].
2. Fixed an issue where it was possible to grab enemies behind your back by relying on the auxiliary camera view while in Tianhai's ultimate form.
3. Fixed an issue where Tianhai and Yueshan weren't affected by Kurumi's [Sacred Circle] directly after ending their ultimates.
4. Fixed an issue where the default Rage Glyph did not have the expected effects on some heroes or in some modes.
5. Fixed the descriptive error of Tarka Ji’s [Vulnerable] buff, from “damage taken within 5 sec will be increased by 10%” to “hit damage taken within 5 sec will be increased by 10%”. And the actual buff effect in game has not been changed.
II. Weapon-related Bugs
1. Fixed an issue where the direction will not be automatically turned towards the enemies when countering after a charged crouch.
2. Fixed an issue where players may not be able to escape when counter the sword energy in close range.
3. Fixed an issue where the sword energy of [Blue Moon] cannot be countered.
III. Hero Cultivation
1. Fixed an issue where the statistics of Yueshan's Cultivation Quests would sometimes increase abnormally.
2. Fixed the abnormal counting issues of Tarka Ji’s Cultivation quests when using [Blackout: Frenzy].
Ⅳ. Others
1. Fixed the rendering order error of some hairstyles and eyelashes.

Nov 24, 2021

Arctic Level Update - Early Access Update #4

Bean Stalker - ⭕⃤ Mario Borher™

Dear Fellow Stalkers!

A world where danger lurks under every leaf. Where heroes ascend and descend. Evolve, loot resources, and craft to conquer higher levels above the clouds. Become one of the legendary Bean Stalkers and beat the most dangerous enemy, the Spirit of the Tree.

We are truly excited that the third Stalk is available now as a free update. The Arctic level update adds even more content from additional weapons and enemies to fresh puzzles, a new boss, a unique temperature system, and a completely new environment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rB14T-cMR-Y

New environment:

Among the frozen waters, in the eerie shine of the Northern lights, your quest will once again set your aim towards the heights. The biggest addition comes in the form of a brand-new frozen environment complete with its own hostile climate and breathtaking arctic scenery.
The first thing you'll notice is the sound. The growling and crashing of the ice would make any normal person freeze with fear. You don't know what's out there, but you're sure it can't be good. A feeling of dread washes over you as your fingers tingle in anticipation for the unknown...

New hazards:

The cold takes a toll on your body. Beware! It will only get worse as the sun sinks in the icy waters. On this stalk, your biggest enemy will be the cold weather.
Our developers have introduced a new temperature system to the game. Now, whenever you find yourself in a cold environment without a heat source, such as a torch or a lighter, your character will begin to take physical damage. This “Lighter” system is designed to provide more experienced players with an additional challenge to overcome.

Temperature system: The temperature will come into play in the arctic as a new status effect. Players will have to maintain body temperature with different heat sources ranging from plants that exhale hot air to warm drinks that you can prepare in the treehouse.

New enemies:

The fierce cold made the creatures living on the beanstalk choose: evolve or go extinct. New species arise and you can bet they do not become friendlier. Beware, their aim remained the same: to HUNT YOU DOWN! They will try all means and stop at nothing.

In the land of ice, there live some four-legged, animal-like sneaky creatures you should definitely keep an eye on. To get you, the smaller ones will target your legs first. The larger ones will arrive in packs with either big teeth or big claws that can be used to take down prey very quickly. These creatures have many different looks, but one thing is for sure: there's always a chance that one of these animals might be near your area.

The human-like creatures that wander in the Frozen Forest are the most dangerous. They have weapons that can hurt you from far away, so keep your distance. You may be able to distract them with bait or lure them into traps if they get too close.

This is a general warning for your safety. A Dreki may attack you from the start of your journey from its hidden shelter that you might not see at first. When there is a danger, it will poke its head out and hiss before striking. This can be avoided by walking with caution in order to avoid stepping on or touching the area where it might be hiding.
Better not come close to Ugla either, because it has sharp claws and bright eyes that never sleep. The owl is the best at finding the highest and most elusive prey. It can fly to any height, be able to see what others cannot while still being able to swoop down for its dinner.

Hunang floats out of the icy shadows and latches itself to your chest. It wraps its tongue around you, drawing warmth from deep within your body. You feel cold all at once, but it's too late now. The monster has already taken what it came for...

New tools and weapons

Carry the light with you to keep you warm during frosty nights. Use the cold against your enemies. Slow them down, injure and defeat them.

Cold damage: Some of the new equipment is able to deal cold damage to your enemies. This will drastically slow them down leaving their defenses open and they will be unable to attack you effectively.

Lighter system: With the new tools in your arsenal you will be able to carry the light with you, giving you heat in the cold situations and firing up machines and puzzles all around the stalk. Some of these tools will work by themselves like the lighter but others will require a heat source to be activated.

New puzzle:

The new memory puzzle keeps the secrets of the arctic hidden from the simple-minded adventurer. But for those who seek the greatest treasures, all they have to do is to memorize the pattern and reconstruct it flawlessly.

Other changes:

Potion changes:

You will never run out of potions in the treehouse. So just as with food and ammunition from now on you cannot accidentally use up your valuable potions.
Potions now have infinite amounts in the treehouse. So just as with food and ammunition from now on you cannot accidentally use up your valuable potions.
The remaining potion liquid amount now stays consistent through the game not resetting when going out or coming back from the stalk. It also keeps its state between sessions so no more infinite potion shenanigans.

Desert changes:

Desert floating pyramids now drop gold ingots instead of gold ores.
Desert shattered island puzzle size changed to 3x3 from 3x4.

QoL changes:

Ore models and textures have bean updated for better distinguishability.
Added a new camera effect when the player is invincible. It also turns off any other camera effects while it is active.
Version number added to HUD overlay.
Dropped tools will snap back to an empty tool slot that is available in your inventory as long as you have an empty inventory slot and all your shoulder slots are full.

Bug fixes:

Fixed a bug where the explosive cactus stopped working when loaded into the desert map multiple times.
Fixed a rare bug where items stick to your hand even after releasing them.
Post-process fade will no longer switch back to full saturation when the player starts to extract with low HP.
Tumor green sphere can no longer get visual damage effects.
Desert detail objects restored.
Boss fights will always spawn enemies now. They were affected by enemy spawn limits before.

We hope you will enjoy playing as much as we enjoyed delivering this special update to you! And as always, your feedback is very important to us, so join our Discord channel to help us make improvements.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1704080/Bean_Stalker/

Nov 24, 2021

DevBlog - November 2021

Project Apocalypse - Sargonius (Dev)

Hi there! I would like to share with you what's currently is going on with Project Apocalypse.

I'm working on the next update and it's going to be a huge one. 20 buildings (with upgrades), reworked production, resources, and AI. I hope to fill the current lack of content with it and finally, most of the planned mechanics will be implemented.

The list of available buildings is finalized until the release. Finally, there will be advanced buildings like Gunsmith or Trade Post and the overall camp building is going to be better. There are now different tiers of buildings with upgrades and dependencies. You'll start with the basic, primitive camp and will be able to expand and improve it.

The resources in the game are also reworked completely. There is still a lot to improve in the field of UI and UX, but the overall resource list looks way better. You have basic resources like materials, cloth, metal, and junk. And now you can recycle stuff to get the advanced resources like chemicals, parts, and electronics. They are used both for crafting and building upgrades to the next tiers. And you can use it to trade later on - though, I'm not sure there will be an adequate trading system in the next update, but I'm going to implement it in a basic state at least.

The production system is also going through some changes. New items, new buildings, more usable items, upgrade items (like generators or tools). I think it would be expanded after the next update because there are not that many items you can craft right now - this should be improved and your ideas and suggestions are welcome!

The AI - same here, major improvements. There are new character needs (thirst, fun, social) and different ways for your survivors to interact with the world and your camp.

Overall roadmap:

v.0.7 - buildings, production, trade system prototype, improved AI. ETA - Late December 2021 or January 2022.
v.0.8 - AI, more production items, and improved trade system. ETA - March 2022

I hope everything will go as planned and there will be no major troubles ahead.

Again, thank you for your support and feedback. I think we're getting close to the finished state (well, after the next update :)) and this is truly amazing. Stay tuned, share your ideas and screenshots, and have fun!