I'm your host Pervun Runebeak and in today's update notes, we're covering all the exciting new content that we added to the game in the Modifiers Update. So sit back, grab some Pickled Goods, and let's get started!
Here's what's new:
8 new Modifiers
Trade Routes interface improvements
Effect previews for retroactive Cornerstones
Stay with us for the full changelog and the developer notes, where we'll give you the inside scoop on all the design changes.
DEVELOPER NOTES
This update’s highlight, as the name suggests, are new World Map Modifiers. A few weeks back, we asked you to share your ideas for new effects in the Community Brainstorm. We were flooded with hundreds of great suggestions and had a hard time picking a handful that we'd be able to deliver in this update. We finally settled on 8 new Modifiers, and we hope they will provide you with fresh challenges and spice up your runs.
Petrified Necropolis Modifier
While not all ideas from the brainstorm made it into the game this time, don’t be discouraged - this doesn’t mean we will just toss aside the impressive list of potential new effects you came up with. Some of the proposals are already present in a different form (as perks for example), and even more of them will eventually end up being implemented in some way (as they might be more suited for something else than a modifier, or require some additional groundwork).
But modifiers are not the only thing coming in this update. We also introduce some very useful UI features that were highly requested over the last couple of months.
Improvements to the trade route panel - a “show only available” checkbox, an option to get alerts when auto collect is on, number of available trade routes on the HUD icon, and more.
A bonus preview when choosing retroactive Cornerstones or buying retroactive perks and building upgrades.
Changes to the way the destruction tool works. It will now always ask for confirmation when trying to remove a building, but holding Shift will automatically skip the confirmation popup.
And multiple other, smaller improvements.
We also took a closer look at Order balance in this update. While there are a lot of different objectives to go for in the game, some of them are a bit problematic (be it too difficult, too unrewarding, or too homogeneous), so rather than adding new ones, we decided to clean this system up a bit. Our main goals were twofold - to try and remove duplicates (Orders with very similar objectives), and to widen the pool of meaningful choices (by boosting rarely picked Orders and nerfing some of the most trivial ones). As always, the balance of this system is never really “done”, and we will return to Orders in the future, once we see the effects of today’s changes.
Lastly, some of you might be happy to hear that we added another two new music tracks to the Scarlet Orchard, and revamped a lot of ambient sounds in the game. We also fixed multiple bugs and slightly improved the game’s performance. We are planning a more thorough performance pass in the near future, but we first want to release an experimental update with some of the changes, to see if we are able to address the most prevalent issues without breaking anything else (as this is mostly an engine-level upgrade, not fully in our control).
Thank you for providing us with feedback and suggestions for the new update. If you’d like to share your ideas for upcoming updates, here are some useful links:
Changes marked with ⚡ were inspired by the community.
New content and features
⚡ Added 8 new World Map Modifiers (inspired by a recent Community Brainstorm).
Frosts - A bizarre cold rises from below and engulfs the Sacred Flame. All Hearths have a smaller radius.
Abandoned Settlement - Some other Viceroy tried to settle this area, but unfortunately failed... You start with a small destroyed settlement in your initial glade.
Untamed Wilds - Nobody settled in this region for multiple Cycles. Every Dangerous and Forbidden Glade contains two threats instead of one (except glades with Archaeological Discoveries in the Scarlet Orchard).
Land of Greed - The strange totem doesn't allow you to share your wealth with anyone... Choosing the "send to Citadel" option in Glade Events no longer awards Reputation Points.
Petrified Necropolis - Rocks in this region have a very peculiar shape… Dead villagers turn to stone. Gain Meat for every Stone and Clay produced.
Gathering Storm - A mysterious force is drawing in heavy clouds. Every year, the storm lasts longer.
Overgrown Library - A remnant of a bygone era, when Royal Archivists themselves ventured out into the wilderness in search of knowledge. One of your starting blueprint choices is replaced by a Wildcard (you can choose one blueprint from all unlocked blueprints).
Ominous Presence - Something strange is trapped beneath the ground. Gain double the amount of Hostility for each year, but every time a villager dies, Hostility is decreased.
All new modifiers were added to the Daily Expedition pool and can also be selected in Training Expeditions.
Balance
⚡ Increased the total number of modifiers spawned on the World Map. You should see a higher density of points of interest on the map, and this change should also make it a bit easier to find certain Modifiers required by Deeds.
⚡ Rebalanced Modifier spawn rates - they are now more equally distributed.
Objectives: increased the value of sold goods requirement.
Work Break (Timed Order)
Objectives: slightly increased the time requirement for not cutting down trees.
Time: lowered the time limit by 20s.
Removed two Orders from the game.
Allies
Storekeeper
UX/UI improvements
⚡ Improved the Trade Route UI.
Changed the way the list of offers works. Now all offers are displayed at once (with small dividers for town names). You no longer have to click on towns to see their offers.
Moved the buy button for new offer slots from the main offer list to the side list of towns.
Removed the biome name from the town slot to make more space for the town name. The biome name can still be seen in the town tooltip.
Added a “show only available” checkbox above the offer list. Checking it will hide offers you can’t afford.
Added a checkbox to the options menu (in the “Alerts” tab) to enable trade route completion notifications even if auto collect is on (this option is off by default).
The Trade Route button on the HUD will now show two numbers: trade routes ready to be collected (on the left), and trade routes that can be started right away (on the right). This should make it easier to make decisions at a glance without needing to open the trade route UI.
Slightly rearranged the Trade Route panel (mostly the checkboxes and the headers).
⚡ Added an effect preview in the description of retroactive perks. Now before buying or picking a retroactive perk, you will be able to see the expected bonus from it.
⚡ Changed the way removing buildings works. Now all buildings (aside from roads and decorations) will always ask for confirmation. You can skip the confirmation pop-up by holding Shift when destroying buildings.
⚡ Added an explanation to timed Resolve penalties that were started by Forest Mysteries during the Storm (such as Cloudburst and Creeping Shadows). The tooltip now reads “Timed Resolve effects expire only after the timer reaches 0, even if they were started by a Forest Mystery during the Storm.” to avoid confusion.
⚡ Changed the wording on progress previews in effects that are only active during one season (like Cricket Mating Grounds, Woodpecker Technique, and Improvised Tools).
⚡ Added a new setting in the options menu - UI scroll sensitivity. It affects all scroll bars in the game’s UI.
⚡ Updated the description of the Earthquake effect (Drainage Mole) to also include information about nearby glade events being destroyed by it.
⚡ Improved the wording in the Awakening effect’s description (Infected Drainage Mole) to make it clear that Cysts remain active even after solving the corresponding glade event.
⚡ Changed the wording in the Silent Looting perk description to make it more consistent with other text in the game.
Added information about the radius to some explosion effects (like in the Noxious Machinery glade event).
Added a new graphic setting in the options menu - shadow fade distance. You can now control the distance at which shadows are disabled (to lower the strain on your GPU or increase the graphical fidelity of the game).
Changed the name of the “Modifiers” tab in the Embark View to “Conditions”, to better describe the information that is available after clicking it.
Changed the name and description of the Ruined Settlement modifier to avoid confusion with the new Abandoned Settlement modifier. It’s now called Ruins, and the description states that there is a higher chance of finding ruined buildings in the forest.
Bug fixes
⚡ Fixed a bug with Automatons not being affected by production boosting perks.
⚡ Fixed a bug with removed perks (Religious Settlement and Cosmetic Specialization) still being given as rewards for completing Orders.
⚡ Fixed a bug with the removed Chicken or Egg Cornerstone still being given as a level up reward.
⚡ Fixed an issue with building categories not lighting up on the bottom HUD after receiving a new blueprint.
⚡ Fixed an issue with the Dangerous Lands Modifier spawning a Forbidden Glade in the forest.
⚡ Fixed an issue with failed timed orders preventing players from completing certain deeds (like Defying the Crown).
⚡ Fixed a bug with incorrect upgrade cost tooltips in the Mine, Archaeologist’s Office, and Geyser Pump.
⚡ Fixed a bug with the game setting up a low resolution when launched for the first time.
⚡ Fixed a bug with Geyser Pumps being moveable in settlements with the Levitating Monument modifier.
⚡ Fixed a bug that made it possible to place an invisible building.
⚡ Changed the description of the Friend or Foe effect to take Prestige difficulty modifiers into account.
⚡ Fixed incorrectly switched values in the Prosperous Archaeology perk description in Traditional Chinese.
⚡ Fixed multiple incorrect Korean translations for tooltips and building descriptions (for example Embark Bonuses, Essential Blueprint upgrades, and production building descriptions).
⚡ Fixed incorrect Korean translations for Embark Bonuses and Essential Blueprint upgrades in the Smoldering City.
⚡ Fixed an incorrect translation of the Into the Forest deed description.
⚡ Fixed an issue with overlays scaling incorrectly with the UI size setting in the options menu.
⚡ Fixed a display bug with resource counters on the HUD having an initial value of 99999.
⚡ Fixed an issue with steam particles not being stopped when the game is paused.
⚡ Fixed a bug with the UI being inactive after typing in a value into the limit text field and hitting Enter.
⚡ Fixed a bug with trader arrival icons covering worker slots.
⚡ Fixed a bug with locked perks being available in the Forsaken Altar.
⚡ Fixed an issue with the intro cutscene having a white frame in ultrawide resolutions.
⚡ Fixed an issue with the Rotten Rain Forest Mystery being drawn in maps without Fertile Soil.
⚡ Fixed a bug with some big UI windows not closing when clicking on the background behind them.
⚡ Fixed a bug with two Encyclopedia entries being locked even if a player has unlocked everything in the game.
⚡ Fixed a bug with the Gathering Knowledge effect (Marshlands biome modifier) affecting Woodcutters.
⚡ Fixed a bug with logistics lines being visible even after closing the building UI.
⚡ Fixed a typo in the Blightrot Cauldron working effect description in English.
⚡ Fixed a typo in the Russian translation of the Firekeeper’s Prayer perk.
⚡ Fixed a typo in the tree marking tooltip in the japanese version of the game.
⚡ Fixed a typo in the Spices perk description in English.
⚡ Removed an unnecessary plus sign from the Survivor Bonding description in French.
⚡ Removed an unnecessary minus sign from the Infamous Viceroy modifier description.
Fixed a bug with “mark trees” and “unmark trees” shortcuts being available in the tutorial even before building the first Woodcutters’ Camp.
Other
⚡ Improved the overall performance of the game.
After the last update, we received some reports about the game running slower. Most of them should be addressed now.
We will release an experimental update in the near future with more fixes and improved performance, and move it over to the main branch once it is stable.
⚡ Added two new music tracks to the Scarlet Orchard (Drizzle and Clearance).
Reworked all ambient sounds for the Cursed Royal Woodlands (all 3 seasons).
Added new ambient sound to the Scarlet Orchard (Clearance).
Added new ambient sounds to the Marshlands (Storm).
Tweaked the volume levels of all ambient sounds in the game.
COMMUNITY CORNER
Click to unfold: [expand type=showmore] Today's Community Corner shines the spotlight on the brilliant sketches created by mcnostril. They’ll make you laugh and they’ll make you think.
We are excited to reveal the results of our survey. Huge thanks to everyone who participated and sent us their feedback! We are currently working on the roadmap for 2023 which is based on the survey results.
So! In total, we had 426 people replying to our survey, 54% of which told us that new content is the main priority for the game. We can't disagree here – we'd love to have more endgame activities ourselves. But on the other hand, 49% (please note that it was a multiple answer question) told us that we should focus more on improving what we have at the same time as well. And we will! First part of it was the recent controller update and we plan to do much more with the total quality of our community in the game.
With the roadmap reveal, which should be coming next week, we'll announce not only our plans for the new content, but also our plans for the existing one, like for example story mode, which was third most popular thing that you asked us to improve. A lot of exciting news coming up!
We will also try and change our update structure to better suit community need and our development speed. We will release less updates, but will make them bigger. Please note that this doesn't include bug fixes and critical changes — those will be pushed out as soon as we have them!
We've been making tons of changes within the first part of the year. Read on to learn about our spectacular progress!
Slappy Socials
To begin with, we've had to revitalise our social media campaign and take it to higher level of quality. We're still figuring some things out, and we're by no means perfect but we're hoping this improvement will demonstrate our passion for Slap-It Together and our community!
The Pit has had several iterations so far. Hopefully, this is the final one. This hub area is perhaps the most important aspect of the game and provides the utmost significance to the gameplay flow; allowing players to beat the game and roll the credits. As such, we took extensive time to get this functioning to a high quality.
BEFORE
AFTER
All empty spaces within this area will be filled to the brim with fun activities and additional geometry. Stay tuned for more updates on this!
Upgraded UI
Additionally, our HUD/UI has had a complete rework. Integrating the game's branding and playfulness, we needed to create it all from scratch. We're so happy with this result and cannot wait to show off the additional updates we make to this!
BEFORE
AFTER
Thank You
We're excited to show off the new Rooftops area, enemy improvements and the new customisation system. But you'll have to wait until next month for more details on that!
Hello there! My name is Dilailah Beste Kuzu and I am the Character Concept Artist at HC HQ. In this new Developer Diary, we will talk about the super fun, yet fairly challenging, design process of our colorful characters.
Who is Dilailah?
I’m a 23-year-old self-taught 2D character artist who worked for several years as a freelance illustrator before I met Hero Concept. I’m such an indie game geek and a huge admirer of cartoons and animations, especially Disney, which influenced me a lot in finding my very own art style. Working as a character designer has been my dream job and I’m so glad that I achieved it so soon. Now, it’s been almost half a year since I became a part of the Hero Concept crew and it’s very exciting to be able to witness how much our game progressed in such a short period of time!
Adaptation Period
I must admit that my adaptation period wasn’t easy. The game already had its unique art style before I joined the developer’s team, and being a stylized artist it didn’t really help me there. It’s pretty difficult to abandon old habits, and I’m obviously still improving, but at the end of the day, I’m happy to be able to leave a mark on this project. It taught me a lot in less than half a year. I’m still publishing personal artworks on social media, but now that I realize even my own art has slight influences of Hero Concept in them. For demonstration, here’s a comparison of some Stellar portraits in Hero Concept style and in my style.
Difference of art styles.
Artstyle isn’t the only obstacle I’ve encountered though. The constructed anatomy and proportions for Mayhem Brawler II characters are pretty much diverse from what I’m used to drawing. I really like exaggerated proportions, cartoony body language, and distorted anatomy in order to highlight the expression. Here in this project, however, it’s more “comic book” than “cartoon”, so that was a bit of a challenge for me. But hey! I’m doing my best and the crew likes my work, so that’s a score!
Proportion and posture studies of the former concept artist.
“Were You Rushing or Were You Dragging?”
When you fail to empathize with the idea, the creative process can decelerate and become very stressful. To speak for myself, when I realize that I’m somewhat working slower than I used to do, I tend to rush things and I think it drastically reduces the quality and potential of the concept. That’s because in a small studio like this, when one single cog dragging may result in disrupting the whole development process, and because of that, you don't really have the chance to "take your time".
There were times –mostly in my first few months– that I couldn't nail a rather simple posture, wrinkles on a cloth, or sometimes even a face; which resulted in many hours of tries and corresponding demotivation for me. So honestly, I thought a few times that I was not suitable for a design job. Well, I do still have occasional difficulties with stylization and anatomy, but now at least I’m sure this is exactly the job that I would like to pursue. :)
Idle posture study for a weapon-wielding character which bothered me a lot.
Recycling Old Designs
As you know by now, what we’ve been working on for over a year is the sequel to Mayhem Brawler. Surely with way better-looking graphics and cooler characters! You will notice that some of the characters are based on designs that were formerly used in Mayhem Brawler. So what I basically do is study the previous concept, make it look more appealing, then adapt it into our new art style; and that’s what we call ‘recycling the design’. I’m dropping you a few examples so you tell the difference–and hopefully the improvement!
Some recycled character designs, before and after.
For some of you who may not have heard about it, the sequel game is going to take place in two different timelines. That means you will be also seeing some bosses of Mayhem Brawler once again in Mayhem Brawler II. Come to mention it, beware of the young and handsome Chainado!
Chainado 16 years before the incidents in Mayhem Brawler.
Does that mean we don't have any actual original characters? Why, of course we do! There are a total of 50 characters in Mayhem Brawler II: Best of Both Worlds, half of them are unique and brand-new! Moreover, we have 8 playable heroes this time, 5 of which I also worked in. Stay tuned for the future developer diaries, you'll meet them soon!
All in a Day’s Work
We all want one thing: to make our game look as good as in our minds. We’re more than a developer team, we are also friends that share a dream. And we do as best as we possibly can in order to serve you quality content. Of course, we don’t forget to have fun on the way! Speaking of fun, we’ll have a few surprises for you in the upcoming weeks. Follow us on social media to find them out. Oh, and don’t forget to check out our previous diaries if you haven’t already!
Frontier Hunter: Erza’s Wheel of Fortune - sitruunaice
Development progress and mainline flow update plan
We have now finished writing all the remaining plot text for the entire game, and the next step is to submit it for translation and voice acting. We are also stepping up the production of maps, monsters, props, skills, etc. for subsequent versions. Eventually the next version of the main process update we expect to be updated at the end of April, there will be about 15% of the process update, at least two new boss battles. If we can successfully complete the translation and dubbing work, then we will be able to achieve the goal as expected.
Free "Erza's Princess Costume" event
UTC time March 5, 6:30 am open 21% discount, discount open at the same time, will be able to receive free "heroine's princess costume", there will be two sets of black and white, update the game to version 0.52.006, enter the game, and then enter the "Erza's bedroom" in the picture below "You can find a new treasure chest, and then open it to get, and then make an archive, the archive will be permanently obtained the two sets of clothes. After the end of the discount period, this treasure chest will disappear.
Because of various reasons missed players do not worry too much, these two sets of clothes will be integrated into the "third season fashion package" in the future, when the purchase can be obtained.
Season 2 Fashion Pack
The second season fashion pack will also be released at the same time as the sale opens, and will contain the following content
Erza's Pajamas Ciara's Magic Academy uniform Nia's Magic Academy Uniform
Here is the list of updates for 0.52.006
1. Added the custom marker function for the map 2. Fixed the problem of jumping on water and being attacked may float slowly 3. Fixed the problem that if you jump on the water, you may fall to the sea bed and walk on the ground if you are attacked 4. Fixed the problem that when jumping on the water, you can't take a two-step jump after entering the air 5. Fixed the problem that when using down kick or diagonal kick to cross the map in the water, there is a slow fall and it cannot be operated 6. Fixed the problem that when Nia is equipped with Thunder Allergy Magic Core and releases ↓→K Thunder Element skill, Thunder Allergy does not produce additional damage to the monster.