Orbis is teeming with a wild and monstrous fauna, ready to steal your fire!

Here is one of its most iconic examples.

The Pixie has conquered most of Orbis thanks to a fast reproduction rate and a marked hostility, you will see it often! This little rat demon is repulsive enough by himself, but careful not to get overwhelmed when his buddies are around!

Ignis sends them flying by the tail ecosystem-regulation style, straight into the dark corners of the map. That'll teach them to threaten the Vulpis village (and be a little bit disgusting).

As of v0.6.0 WizardChess is now approximately 150% bigger than what you've previously seen!! There is an entirely NEW Biome to play around in, with it's own enemies, rulesets, and a unique boss battle! This update builds off the recent Ranking System, allowing you to battle Cormag and Hss repeatedly to rank them up, unlock additional content, and raise the overall difficultly of the game in tandem with your own skill and experience.

If you're previously played the game and have maxed out Cormag, you'll have to raise him 1 more Rank, and you'll have full access to the Desert Biome!



If you prefer to have the update described with visual accompaniments, and detailed rationales, please do watch Ben's wonderful Devlog! I genuinely love the way he explains game design. His videos are informative and comforting!


This new Biome is build around maze-like levels, gambling, risks and rewards! It brings with it brand new enemies to learn and overcome, and other unique challenges to overcome.

• Maze Encounters - Send in your least fatigued unit and try to escape with loot and your life.
  
• Multi-Offer Trade Rooms - Sacrifice units to enhance the remaining team, and optimize your build
  
• Opponent: Hss - A brand new boss battle!

• New Knoel + Lion enemies - Appear in the Mountain Biome, unlocked by ranking up Cormag
  
• Added Traits - Social, Shy, Extrovert, Introvert, Focused, Warned, Ready, Clumsy, Offguard, Unready

• Alternative music in shops - A "supermarket" remix of the main track
  
• Alternative combat music when down to the last enemy - The tempo of the music shifts down to match the decreased intensity in this phase of combat.
  
• Codex browser - Browse all codex entries you've ever been shown. Upon opening the browser, it will suggest relevant entries for the encounter type
  
• Introduction dialogue for bosses
  
• Compass indicator - Makes backseating easier

• Monk cannot swap with Shield Orbs & some other special units
  
• New AI tactics unlocked at higher ranks
  
• Upgrade quality of all in-game music tracks
  
• Shield Orbs move around randomly
  
• Archer rebalanced - Archers shoot in a ring with radius based on their SKL (instead of a filled circle)
  
• Lancer rebalanced - Lancers will always charge as far as they can, indicated by new UI during the targeting process. They can now charge to empty squares increasing their mobility significantly

• Transition effect sometimes stalled/covered screen
  
• Tweak unit hover hitbox
  
• Disable gameplay input while options menu is open

Thanks for reading to the end <3
Ben & Ricky (TwoPM Studios)
Graeme (2 Left Thumbs)

Hey there Brigadiers, another hotfix is dropping with lots of balance changes and bug fixes! In terms of new features, heat is now visible on the timeline before you place an action. Now that's what I call a HOTfix! Missile launchers being super powerful has been another hot topic, and in response we've rebalanced the amount of missile launchers you'll encounter in combat and made dashing much more effective at scrambling missiles, so they should feel less oppressive now. Read on for more details!

Please note - there is a potential issue with players on Epic Games Store experiencing corrupt installs. If you have at any point experienced blank text boxes during gameplay, please uninstall and reinstall your game, delete all local files, and start a new game.

▲ - a buff was applied
▼ - a nerf was applied
⮂ - a tradeoff occurred
🦾 - a change was made based on community feedback

• 🦾 Added heat visuals to the timeline before placing an action
  
• Added minor polishing of combat effects, particle brightness and color adjustments

Balance Changes

• ▲ Battlesite spawn limit to 1 instead of 2
  
• ⮂ Rebalanced the amount of loot gained at convoys
  
• Convoys now give more varied loot on completion
  
• Each type of convoy (Equipment, Reinforced and Repair) now drops different amounts of loot
  
• ▲ Increased the Uncommon and Rare component limit to 250
  
• ⮂ Rebalanced the damage threshold on all structure destruction scenarios
  
• ⮂ Rebalanced how many Missile Launcher units appear in combat
  
• ▲ Increased the amount of time missile scramble effect is in place when dashing, from 4sec max to 10sec max
  
• ▲ Increased the maximum range in which missile scramble effect is in place when dashing, from 30m to 90m

• 🦾 Fixed a typo in the T9 Thruster effect that caused it to be inverted
  
• 🦾 Fixed a typo causing Supercharge 1 perk to have a buff of 70% (it is now reduced to 7% as intended)
  
• 🦾 Fixed a scaling issue where DC1 Impact Cannons were giving x27 the amount of supplies they should have
  
• 🦾 Fixed an issue where due to Null Ref Exceptions the main menu displayed as black and games could not be loaded
  
• Fixed Overdrive movement button displaying in some circumstances where the movement mode was not actually available
  
• Fixed movement modes being maintained between saves incorrectly
  
• Fixed patrols and convoys from having a chance to spawn directly under the player, interrupting their engagement with other overworld POIs
  
• Fixed an issue with bullet visuals being too thin and choppy, making them hard to see in combat
  
• 🦾 Fixed some caches choosing invalid maps, creating cache scenarios that didn't have caches
  
• 🦾 Fixed Resupply event preventing events from completing, resulting in a softlock
  
• 🦾 Fixed difficulty settings not initializing properly, causing them to appear as resolution sliders when accessed in the tutorial
  
• 🦾 Fixed a UI issue where tanks and turrets appeared to be many levels lower than they actually were
  
• Fixed screenshake on pilot cameras causing pilots to eventually drift out of the frame
  
• 🦾 Fixed weapon information UI disappearing in combat if any non-weapon part had been viewed in inventory before entering combat
  
• 🦾 Fixed legs generating with weapon perks on occasion
  
• 🦾 Fixed weapons generating with perks that had no effect on the weapon
  
• Added more safety checks to the main menu to prevent some rare scenarios that prevented loading saves or starting a new game
  
• 🦾 Fixed melee weapon workshop projects all being listed under Primary Weapon. There are now two different projects for Primary and Secondary melee weapons.
  
• 🦾 Fixed an edgecase where saves could be loaded right before a battle outcome was decided, which would carry the result UI into the loaded scene
  
• 🦾 Fixed typing in a text field continuing to move the camera or trigger hotkeys
  
• 🦾 Fixed a handful of spawn locations being set to inside hills (visual issue only)
  
• 🦾 Fixed hotkeys for the base being accessible in the first province
  
• 🦾 Fixed incorrect optimal interval calculation being made incorrectly in unit editing screen

• Part UI multiplies ambient heat dissipation of the mech by action duration. This is correct when calculating heat at the end of the action, but incorrect for calculating how long it'd take to drop back to 0 heat after the action
  
• Melee targeting is difficult and sometimes inaccurate
  
• All audio except for cutscene audio will sometimes not play
  
• Mechs will not move the full distance during execution on some lower-end PCs
  
• Destroyed buildings and terrain are not being correctly reloaded when loading the precombat save
  
• Tooltips can flow off the sides of the screen in some circumstances
  
• Occasionally UI can be carried from one context to another by accident
  
• Occasionally destroyed mechs are flung around the map after viewing replay mode
  
• On launch, it seems audio is occasionally not playing on the main menu and in gameplay except for cutscenes. If you do encounter this please relaunch your game
  
• If hit a specific angle with a melee, sometimes tanks can be pushed underground, preventing completion of the combat scenario
  
• There is a change of the province liberation event being interrupted by other post combat events, meaning the opportunity to participate in the parade is not given to the player when the province is won
  
• Some events do not end correctly - this could be caused by playing with an older save file
  
• Subsystems are frequently not altering equipment stats by the amount listed in their tooltips
  
• Sometimes patrols can get stuck behind the mobile base without engaging in combat. This can be resolved by entering liberated territory briefly
  
• Take It Back achievement is unlocking early for some players
  
• Many maps that contain turrets do not also have generator buildings - turrets must be manually destroyed on these maps
  
• Some spawn locations for starting combat are in locations that make it hard to win the battle (corners, right in front of the enemy etc)
  
• Performance issues are common
  
• Tsubasa workshop project has the same text as Arrow workshop project

Now when it is player 1's turn to attack, the buttons are paused to be able to choose what action you want to do.

Haruky has an end.

Special ending for Haruky

Haruky can transform only in the special finale.

New final enemy only for HARUKY Death Dark Queen.

Fixed bug when exiting the game from queued characters.

Added Achievement to unlock.

I will keep updating and fixing bugs.

• Option to keep the old music in Survivors mode
  
• Shop buyable Reroll/Rarity Reroll/Banishes now show you current and max owned Reroll/Rarity Reroll/Banishes

• Optimization for Pike:
  Pike now only spawn one projectile per frame for each attack at most
  multiple attacks can stack if they are fact enough, this should not affect dps of the weapon (as the attack will still happen at the same speed as before)
  
• Thorn Firework change
  Thorn firework only chain once, it will no longer have an infinite loop of sub-projectile triggering thorn firework.
  This change aim to improve performance of thorn firework
  
• Armor-less now only ban card with both defence stat and Moon tag
  
• Portal shard now only loop projectile Once per projectiles
  
• Slighty increased light in cave zone(yet again)

• Some Post-process thing not being correctly disabled on low
  
• Silph's blade having "-1 tag"
  
• Artificer's Katana, Thunder Staff, Staff of Storms, Explosive vials and Thunder vials missing area weapon tag
  
• character stats staying open upon re opening the pause menu
  
• When automatic level-up is disabled you only level-up once at a time
  
• Event Rewards Menu Selection automatically selects Next Stage instead of Loot
  
• Armor-less banning Immovable-Object

Improved Polish translation thanks to Prawie for the help.
Also improved UI scaling, making text more readable and less overlapped.

ON SALE THIS WEEK THRU SUNDAY, 12TH OF MARCH 2023
D&D Classics: I6 Ravenloft
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
System: D&D Classics - AD&D 1E/2E
Type: Adventure
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1168180

D&D Classics: Night Below: An Underdark Campaign (2E)
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
System: D&D Classics - AD&D 1E/2E
Type: Adventure
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1452520

The Shattered Circle (2E)
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
System: D&D Classics - AD&D 1E/2E
Type: Adventure
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1550120

D&D Candlekeep Mysteries
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
System: D&D fifth edition
Type: Adventure
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1535740

D&D Fizban's Treasury of Dragons
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
System: D&D fifth edition
Type: Accessory
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1782830

D&D Starter Set: Dragons of Stormwreck Isle
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
System: D&D fifth edition
Type: Adventure
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2083300

Pathfinder RPG - The Harrowing
Publisher: Paizo Inc.
System: Pathfinder RPG and D&D 3.5/ OGL
Type: Accessory
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1998160

Pathfinder RPG - Campaign Setting: Inner Sea Magic
Publisher: Paizo Inc.
System: Pathfinder RPG and D&D 3.5/ OGL
Type: Setting
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1447180

Fifth Edition Feats
Publisher: Total Party Kill Games
System: 5E Compatible
Type: Accessory
https://store.steampowered.com/app/453460

Fifth Edition Options: Recovery Dice Options
Publisher: Total Party Kill Games
System: 5E Compatible
Type: Accessory
https://store.steampowered.com/app/701840

Fifth Edition Options
Publisher: Total Party Kill Games
System: 5E Compatible
Type: Accessory
https://store.steampowered.com/app/700930

Adventures from the Potbellied Kobold: 15 Adventures for 5E
Publisher: Indie Publishers
System: 5E Compatible
Type: Adventure
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1669710

Esper Genesis 5E Core Manual
Publisher: Indie Publishers
System: 5E Compatible
Type: Core Rules
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1897790

Fantastic Tails Core Ruleset
Publisher: Indie Publishers
System: Fantastic Tails
Type: Ruleset
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1993640

Scarlet Citadel
Publisher: Kobold Press
System: 5E Compatible
Type: Adventure
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1664210

Vault of Magic for 5th Edition
Publisher: Kobold Press
System: 5E Compatible
Type: Accessory
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1813040

Behind the Claw
Publisher: Mongoose Publishing
System: Traveller 2E (Mongoose)
Type: Accessory
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1394000

Traveller Companion
Publisher: Mongoose Publishing
System: Traveller 2E (Mongoose)
Type: Accessory
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1808050

The Glorious Empire
Publisher: Mongoose Publishing
System: Traveller 2E (Mongoose)
Type: Accessory
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2000550

Lost Artifacts of Greyghast
Publisher: Many-Sided Dice Publishing
System: 5E Compatible
Type: Accessory
https://store.steampowered.com/app/851510

Fallout: The Roleplaying Game Ruleset
Publisher: Modiphius Entertainment Ltd.
System: Fallout: The Roleplaying Game
Type: Ruleset
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1969690

Fallout RPG - Gamemaster's Toolkit
Publisher: Modiphius Entertainment Ltd.
System: Fallout: The Roleplaying Game
Type: Core Rules
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2126530

Fallout RPG - Once Upon a Time in the Wasteland
Publisher: Modiphius Entertainment Ltd.
System: Fallout: The Roleplaying Game
Type: Adventure
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2138870

Potbellied Kobold's Guide to Villains & Lairs
Publisher: Grim Press
System: 5E Compatible
Type: Adventure
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2105210

A small but mighty patch with a few challenge mode updates, QoL changes, and bugfixes.


Shoutouts to our current top leaderboard holders.



Some items and abilities that allowed you to earn tons of gold have been changed in Challenge mode so scores on the leaderboards are more reasonable.

• STEAL now works differently in Challenge and Story modes. In Story Mode, it can be activated up to 3 times per battle. In Challenge Mode, it only works if your gold is below 20.
  
• Pirate Hook now works differently in Challenge and Story modes. In Story Mode, it can be activated up to 3 times per battle. In Challenge Mode, it only works if your gold is below 20.
  
• Leaderboard entries that are currently out of bounds have been removed.

• By popular request, Blacksmith buffs can now be reset.
  
• Multiple fixes implemented for items with "start of turn" effects in Avarum's battle.
  
• Fixed an issue that caused the voracity warning to stay on screen if Avarum is killed with a throwing knife.
  
• Players will no longer fail the "Hero of Julesvale" achievement for simply changing the difficulty in the pause menu. You now need to actually start a fight at a lower difficulty to reset its progress.
  
• Fixed a softlock that could occur when holding the right mouse button and moving to the Inn tile.
  
• Magic Mirror's description updated.

This release fixes a bug introduced in 0.5.0 that broke multi-remove.
https://buckmartin.de/combine-and-conquer/2023-03-08-v0.5.1.html

Happy March starchasers! I’ve been doing this for so long that I’m starting to run out of jokes and intros, so let’s keep it simple this time around.

You’ll notice again that this month’s devlog is rather short compared to the old ones. This is more the nature of things as we get closer to release. There’s less content or features to implement, and it’ll be more about polishing and finishing up what’s there to get it ready.

Without further ado, let’s get into it! As always, check out our demo and join our Discord for more moment-to-moment updates. And you can check out the full article here.



As we move closer to release, I’ve created a huge tracking sheet for testers to keep track of and more easily report bugs on all the content in the game.



And of course, that content is being finalized. The player can now fully gamble, and race in starship races (after getting sponsors) or become a gladiator in a combat arena (along with the appropriate questlines for each section. There’s even new UI widgets to help with that.






We’ve also been adding various other improvements, such as the ability to see train travel routes, some basic voice acting in key demo parts, and some improvements to NPC AI along with randomization of their loadouts and abilities.





For that last bit it means by default it’ll do things like give some more random equipment to various NPCs (so expect to see more mines and missiles), but you can also expect to see cases where, for example, doing a quest that accidentally ends with a shipment of ancient weapons being set loose on a galaxy means you’ll start seeing smugglers and pirates carry those weapons sometimes.



Shadows! I talked about this last month but they’re now implemented completely into the game, and will filter in color and intensity based on what nebulas you’re in, if you’re in them.




A lot of older models or things got redone and improved. The normal jumpgate mesh was the first model I ever made, period. It was time for an update, along with updates to its wrecked variants and its active effects.







Furthermore, flickering logic has been separated from ship corpse logic, so now you can get ancient flickering ruins, like the remains of this aeons old whaling ship.




Fauna can also die now. I won’t tell if you won’t.



Finally, we’re redoing a lot of textures here and there to have some space saved in anticipation for all the new space station and space interior models. Finally, no more floating grey cubes in the void.







And that’s all for this month! Check back next month, we’ll be doing station stuff. Lots and lots of station stuff.