Aug 24, 2022

Wizardry: The Five Ordeals - スパくん

Updates from previous betas：

New
- Official scenarios are now officially available in English.
- Reworked lighting in dungeon
- In SD/3:2 UI, dark zone and magic ban status are now indicated by icons.

HDUI will be supported at a later date.

Updates
- Japanese/English names for initial character creation now change depending on the "Interface" option in the game.
- Slightly lighten the texture of the water flow
- Changed the location of the game log from My Documents to "Game installation location\Data\Temp\GameLog"
- Changed the location of some files associated with scenarios from My Documents to "Game installation location\Data\Temp\ScenarioData"

The game does not use My Documents anymore.

- In the HDUI, when selecting a portrait in the training area, portraits other than _a will be displayed when the cursor is moved.
- Changed the initial cursor position when selecting a portrait to the portrait number currently in use by the character.
- Significantly increased possibilities for portrait types

Please stay tuned for further details on the update.

- Tentatively changed cursor for brightness on options screen.

Major changes are planned for the options screen in the future.

Fixes
- In the brick wall labyrinth, the normal floor texture was incorrect.
- In the brick wall labyrinth, the texture settings for the bottom of the columns were incorrect.
- In the brick wall labyrinth, the texture of the walls differed depending on whether the door was opened with or without a doorjamb.
- The disappearing mouse cursor affected the menu selection.
- In the "Normal" movement mode, if the movement key was pressed immediately after the camp was broken, the speed would be the same as in the "High Speed" mode.
- The flow of lava and water flowed differently depending on the direction the player was facing.
- The instant death effect of the spell "Prismic Missile" was not set correctly in the default spell settings.

Aug 24, 2022

Now English Support!

Wizardry: The Five Ordeals - スパくん

We finally have English!
New Update includes English translation for the official scenarios.

The major update includes:

English translation for the official scenarios for the first time.
Contents of the beta version, which was deployed in March 2022, including the ability to change equipment during battle and various bug fixes.

Please note that before starting the game, please read the Official Online Manual, if possible. The content of the manual is subject to change without notice.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2853306644

important：
From the previous stable version

Location of the folder where the portraits will be placed, format from face1-20, and file name for 96x96face
Location of the game log folder
Location of some temporary files generated by scenario data

are changed.

The new location of the game log folder is
Where to install the game\Data\Temp\GameLog

The new location of some temporary files generated by the scenario data is
Where to install the game\Data\Temp\ScenarioData

The new location of the folder where the portraits will be placed is
Where to install the game\Data\User\face

The folder format will be the same for portrait face1-20 as for face21 and onward. Also, portrait faces 1-20 are now in the same folder format as face21 and later, and the file name for 96x96 faces has been changed from face.png to face_a.png.
The file name of 96x96face has been changed from face.png to face_a.png.

Please see the patch notes for other updates.
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1308700/view/3243175505178485064

To celebrate the release of this major update, we have a 15% off sale on Steam. Please take this opportunity to purchase the game!

■DLC “the Absence of Misericordia” and “Prisoners of the Battles” announced!
Thanks to the support from our enthusiastic users since the start of early access, we have officially decided to develop the following additional scenario download contents.

the Absence of Misericordia
Prisoners of the Battles

Both scenarios were originally developed by the same developer in 2005, and each has a sufficient volume of content. The official scenarios of subsequent downloadable contents will be available in Japanese and English from the time of release.

In addition to the above two scenarios, we are also planning a variety of additional downloadable contents to let everyone enjoy the game even more. We will continue to brush up the main game with functional improvements based on feedback until the official release. We appreciate your continued support.

Aug 24, 2022

Update 1.8.7

Infinitode 2 - Infinite Tower Defense - therainycat

List of changes:

Optimised code of Miners, most noticeable on 6.3 endless
Greatly optimised collision detection code, up to 2.5x better UPS in end-game endless runs
Changed default main menu music (some players complained about harsh and loud sound of Cherish), you can switch it back through the music player
Removed "Community maps" button, more info below
Developer mode research is now available. Developer mode allows you to create items / edit maps / modify the game in any way you like
iOS: now uses different software for rendering. Touching iOS home bar now does not throw you out of the game immediately when you touch it (swipe up to enable it)
Steamdeck: on-screen keyboard should now show automatically when any text field is selected
Added rewarding device performance / capabilities survey
Fixed 6 bugs
Fixed: Gauss's incorrect resource consumption (now consumes equal or lesser amount of resources)
Scripting possibility: custom / looped enemy paths

Dev mode finally available

Now it is possible to obtain access to the "developer mode" with the corresponding research.

Developer mode is the most endgame upgrade one could imagine. Here's some of its features:

Unlocks console where you can run commands or any Lua code. For example, cmd.coins(100) will instantly give you 100 coins during the game and cmd.help() will show all of the available commands.
Unlocks item editor which allows you to create any amount of any type of item (even accelerators and Double gain shards). You will also find "edit item" buttons in the inventory and map editor.
Allows to add new and edit existing default levels
Gives access to more advanced debug settings (useful for mod / map makers)

Please note: developer mode does not allow to compete on the leaderboards and save your progress onto the cloud but you can always return back to the normal mode with cloud saves.
Developer mode research will remind you about it too.

Development pace and state of Infinitode 2

It's been a while since the last update and such a big delay is caused by... well, you know, regular war stuff.

Most of the time since February has been spent on the development of 1.9.0 update and what you see in the above list of changes is actually 6 months behind the actual version (for geeks: 800+ commits behind).
There were (and are) some groundbreaking and major plans to improve the game, but eventually it was decided to keep Infinitode 2 in the current state and continue to polish it - I'll explain this decision further in this article.

Infinitode 2 is now a fully finished game - players can get all of the trophies, complete the storyline and there are no "Coming soon" lines in it. From now on, I'll do my best to fix bugs, improve its performance, implement some of the minor features and add new maps.
Most probably, Season 3 will start some day later with update 1.9.0 which will also improve the balance. The game will not recieve any major features such as Community Maps and Factory.

Community maps

As I've already mentioned above, community maps will not be added into Infinitode 2. Actually, it is not hard to add some kind of in-game map browser and allow players to submit their maps, and I could do that, but I can't.

The initial idea of community maps could be described like this:

Players can use items from their inventory to create new maps and submit them to the server. Other players can download those maps on any platform right through the game without manual copying of files.

I could implement that and call it a day: update 1.9.0 comes out, no more "coming soon", and no more frustration around that "soon" that takes another year to come... but it is basically impossible for my screwed brain to release such an unfinished thing, so I've started to refactor (re-write to make better) almost everything. Constant work on the community maps added a couple of new things that need to be implemented before I could call "community maps" complete:

It should be possible to add scripts. Without scripting, every map will feel the same and won't bring much of an entertainment. New mechanics and rules is what makes a game like Infinitode interesting
Scripts should work fast and it should be easy to write them in a correct way. Regular run can easily end up simmulating hundreds of enemies and thousands of projectiles, adding slow code in any part of it will easily kill game's performance
Scripts must be safe - manual moderation of submissions is not an option because reading someone's code is hard and consumes much time. Manual moderation may fail to filter out some of the dangerous code and will result in long queues of maps waiting to be approved. Running unsafe code and leaving players on their own is not an option for me.
Ideally, scripts should be able to change every aspect of the game - from individual stats of each tower to the global rules of the whole game mode. Maybe someone wants to switch roles and spawn enemies - in this case, destroying the base is actually a win.
It should be possible to change the look and feel of maps - especially important if map brings new type of tower with a custom texture.

Good news is, most of these features are already implemented. Bad news is, most of the code needs to be rewritten, which takes much time and affects many mechanics of the game.

Future plans

Infinitode 2 receives long time support, which means that you can count on bug fixes, some minor improvements and seasons. It is now considered finished.

Infinitode 2 will also be officially released in China as a separate version of the game, and that's what I'll be focusing on for now.

It would be extremely irrational for me not to use all of the code that has been written for community maps and other stuff planned for what was the next (now discontinued) major version of Infinitode 2, so here's an official announcement for you: the next game is now in development - bigger, cleaner, better and, as usual - zero paywalls and mandatory ads. Obviously, no ETAs yet.

Solely for the purpose of hyping you up, let me throw some keywords and screenshots here (don't take them as any kind of promise, things usually change):
Community maps, factory, more / better research, large scale, 3D elements, high quality loot, regular events, better economics, diverse endgame, scripting, asset packs, multiplayer, cheat proof competition.

Thank you for staying with Infinitode!

Aug 24, 2022

Chivalry 2 Music with J.D. Spears

Chivalry 2 - bubblywums

J.D. Spears is the man behind the music of Chivalry 2. As a composer, J.D.’s multi-genre work has appeared on multiple television programs including HBO Max’s Ravi Patel’s Pursuit of Happiness, Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, and A+E Networks’s American Pickers. Most recently, J.D. scored Torn Banner Studios’ critically acclaimed video game Chivalry 2. The music has been celebrated and was recently featured by BMI’s (Broadcast Music, Inc.) Composer Series, the G.A.N.G. (Game Audio Network Guild) Composer Spotlight, and The Game Awards.

https://youtu.be/3PTdbozOZhI

(We're hosting biweekly streams on our Twitch channel where we talk to Torn Banner developers, community members, and we'll soon be debuting upcoming features! Be sure to follow us over on our Twitch profile so you get notified every time we go live. You can watch a VOD of our latest stream on our Twitch channel, or archived on our YouTube channel.)

JD has composed many tracks for all of the different scenarios that you hear music in-game. This includes, but is not limited to, warmup music, dynamic music during gameplay, match ending music, map specific music, the main menu music, and more.

https://youtu.be/ilmWt6yn8B8
For the Chivalry 2 Original Game Soundtrack, J.D. had the opportunity to have the Budapest Scoring Orchestra perform all of the iconic music. Take a look at this compilation of footage from the Chivalry 2 recording sessions in Budapest, Hungary.

On stream we showed off a few of the new songs that joined the Chivalry 2 soundtrack in the Tenosian Invasion update. The full set list of songs will be available at a future date, but you can preview these two now:

https://soundcloud.com/tornbanner/join-the-cavalry-feat-hayat-selim-chivalry-2
https://soundcloud.com/tornbanner/fear-will-only-bring-you-death-chivalry-2

Creating an all new sound for the Tenosian Invasion update was certainly a monumental task, but J.D. explains how he was able to nail the new sound while keeping all of the new music in the same spirit of the Chivalry 2 universe. Composing music for the Tenosians allowed for an exploration of sound unlike that for Agatha or for Mason. One of the major additions to the musical sound of Tenosia was the wonderful Hayat Selim and her angelic high notes. See her recording some of the Tenosian music in the video below.

https://youtu.be/0EtWJRM5Nro
In addition to working on all of the new music for Chivalry 2, J.D. also worked alongside Chivalry veteran Ryan Buckley to rework one of the fan favourites from the Chivalry franchise - Duty and Honor. You've no doubt heard it in-game, but here is Duty and Honor II for your listening pleasure.

https://youtu.be/uol5c-3z5bI
Be sure to follow the Torn Banner Studios Twitch channel and join us for our next Twitch stream on September 1st where we'll be going over the plans for the Reinforced Update, as well as giving you a release date. Be sure to stay tuned.

Aug 24, 2022

MONKEY BARRELS Story

Monkey Barrels - m0n1baby

The crazy twin-stick shooter MONKEY BARRELS features a challenging STORY MODE with exciting CHARACTERS. Here’s a quick preview of the STORY:

With a secret “combat chip,” global consumer electronics manufacturer Crabbenwold Electric weaponized ordinary household appliances and destroyed all human life on Earth!

Now Dr. Crabbenwold’s sinister airship descends from the skies over Tokyo! His plan? To capture innocent monkeys for his “military animals” experiments... starting with little Kotetsu!

Two brave monkeys named Masaru and Hanako vow to rescue their friend. But first, their mentor, Mr. Shibayama must teach them how to use the crazy weapons he’s invented…

Let’s take a closer look at each of the main CHARACTERS:

Affable, passionate and impulsive, MASARU loves his biker jacket! His helmet is covered in stickers that he collected.

Tough and high-spirited, HANAKO was once a local celebrity at Ueno Zoo’s Monkey Mountain. Now she roams free in a world without humans.

Kind, thoughtful and speedy KOTETSU threw himself in front of Hanako to save her from Crabbenwold’s claw. He must be rescued!

Stylish genius gorilla MR. SHIBAYAMA builds weapons for Masaru and Hanako and guides them through their rescue mission. He’s a huge Oedo Professional Wrestling fan.

The sinister DR. ECHIZEN CRABBENWOLD weaponized household electronics to wipe out the human race. Now he plans to perform military experiments on innocent animals!

MONKEY BARRELS releases later this year on September 26!
Keep an eye out for more information in the coming weeks and be sure to add the game to your Steam Wishlist!

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