Apr 14, 2023

Let’s Talk About Weapons Vol.2 - New Designs & Energy Mechanics

Oblivion Override - EnsamK

Hi, adventurers!

It’s been a little while since our first weapon blog, and we’ve been busy digesting feedback and suggestions collected from our communities and feeding into further development.

As one of the core components of Oblivion Override, the design of weapons has been something many players are most concerned about. In this blog, we will continue to introduce the weapon designs in Oblivion Override via aspects including attack moves, unique weapon skills and attributes, as well as a sneak peek into the new weapon skill mechanic - the “energy-based” weapon.

New Weapon Design

Our last article mainly focused on weapons like daggers and fists. In today’s blog, while some of the weapons to be introduced were those previously locked in the Next Fest demo, we’ve also been reworking them based on your general weapon feedback, and hope to offer a brand-new look of the weapon system to all adventurers.

For example, when we designed the weapon [Prop Sword], we considered “combo attack” and “swift movement” as its main features - Compared to normal swords, it increases your displacement distance appropriately through weapon actions to avoid damage in some complicated situations, such as levels with traps and ground thorns. The combo attack allows you to stop the combo and turn to another enemy at any time, which brings much flexibility during battles.

We also made the attack more striking and enhanced skill visual effects for Prop Sword to avoid players being unable to locate the player-character in chaotic combats. And of course, a spectacular combo should have a cool finale, so we added "X Slash" as the final blow, hoping to deliver the ultimate attack more powerful and impressive.

Now let’s talk about the new pike weapon - [Javelin]. As a melee weapon, the longer range the better. But it would be a little bit boring if it’s just a simple thrust. So we designed some special attributes for it, such as, "Javelin can come back to you in a rotating way", and "deal continuous attack when inserted into the wall". You can toss it out as a ranged weapon and deal constant spinning damage in a rather safe place, which can be particularly useful when facing big and slow enemies.

In addition to new weapons, we have also remade [Plasma Sword], one of the popular weapons in the Next Fest DEMO. The new attribute “Plasma Field” allows you to create an electric triangle at the final hit of the combo and shock enemies in a large range (while it has an 8s cooldown). And with its previous attribute “Remise” to stun enemies with electric shock, you can combine the two attributes to take crowds of enemies under control in fierce fighting, or help you survive danger in some very moments.

Also, let’s take a look at the sweetest weapon in our game - [Sawpop]. We retain the rapid rotation attack of its skill “Sweet Storm” in the DEMO version, and add an upgradable stepped-up ability: "release the skill at the 2nd/3rd/4th hit of combo and the skill will be infused with guard-breaking/ blast wave/ HP lifesteal effect”, which may turn your “button-mashing” into real “tornado-smashing”.

New [Energy] Mechanism

We have always wanted to provide players with a varied and dynamic combat experience in Oblivion Override. In the previous DEMO, there were many sorts of weapon skills, but in general, all of these skills have only one refresh mechanism - [time-based cooldown], which is a little bit dull in gameplay.

Therefore, we adjusted the weapon system with a new [Energy] mechanic — in short, it needs some energy to unleash a skill, instead of waiting for the cooldown. The energy can be obtained through attacking enemies, or through special weapon attributes, such as "gain 50 energy points immediately when entering a combat room".

Compared with cooldown, which is relatively more like waiting passively, the energy-consuming mechanic emphasizes more on the proactive attack. You can use skills more frequently by keeping on attacking enemies. The more you attack in a fight, the stronger you will be.

Energy-Based Weapons

With the emergence of the [energy-based] mechanism, some weapons under this mechanic can have unexpected performance - without affecting the game balance, the [energy-based] mechanic will not only effectively enhance the power of weapons, but also create some new tactics if you combine their original weapon features wisely.

For example, regarding the weapon [Storm Coil] in the DEMO version, its original skill “Dynamo” was to strike the enemy with a magnetic electric drill, which needed to be activated in appropriate timing because you wouldn’t be able to move when using the skill. But when we turn it into an [Energy] weapon, the skill becomes more convenient and flexible: “It will consume energy continuously when you use it, and you can stop the skill anytime”, in which way the ease of use and safety can be effectively guaranteed.

Also along with this change is a new weapon attribute, "AC/DC" which fires a small drill every second when you use “Dynamo”, dealing damage to enemies at a distance. As an energy-consuming bonus, this attribute further increases the frequency of skill use. Now you may beat those big enemies hard as a maniac electric drill man!

The energy-based axe weapon [Ascendance] showcased in the DEMO has an imposing look and attack effects. It can deal tons of wide-range damage when you face a considerable number of enemies. Its [Energy] skill "Lunar Spiral" has a wide attack range and jumping distance, designed to compensate for the weakness of the axe's slow normal attack speed.

Speaking of which, the slow attack may also make it hard to accumulate energy, so we added another attribute to make it more efficient, “Ex mode”: hold the skill for 0.3s and it will start to charge itself - you can charge in advance in a safe place before ready to seize the initiative in intense combat.

Those inventions, created from cold scraps of rusty metal, may also be filled with longing for traditional festivals from the distant human age. Take the new weapon, [Yuletide], for example. Although it looks like a hammer modified from a Christmas tree, you can use it more than swinging-attack - It has a skill called "Sleigh Ride": Ride the Christmas tree and rush to hit the enemy fiercely! By consuming 100 energy points, players can freely change direction during this invincible time, hitting and penetrating enemies along the way.

Of course this entertaining weapon is not just a roadkiller, we also designed additional festive attributes for it, such as “Spark - throwing Christmas presents at intervals during the Sleigh Ride”. These stars, candies, and bells that splash and explode around should be your surprise Christmas gifts to the gathered enemies on the ground.

That's all for today’s sharing of the weapon system! We’re still working on developing more weapons and new gameplay systems which will be gradually revealed in later blogs. If you have any advice for our game, please feel free to leave a comment or join our official Discord server and discuss with fellow adventurers!

Official Discord: https://discord.gg/49C4wSYDph

Apr 14, 2023

Notice Regarding Ongoing Network Mode Issues

GUILTY GEAR -STRIVE- - ArcSystemWorks

Thank you for your continued interest in Guilty Gear -Strive-.

This is Ken Miyauchi, producer of Guilty Gear -Strive-.

First, we would like to sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused by the network issues that have been affecting the game. Our team has made it our top priority to identify the cause of the issues and will continue doing our best to resolve them.

Regarding the current situation:
We have currently identified the cause of a large impact on the issues with the network mode and are actively working together with related parties on improvements to address the problem.

We have received many inquiries regarding certain network problems believed to be caused by malicious hacking. However, from our current investigation, we have determined there is a high likelihood of an unrelated, not human-induced cause behind these problems. We are currently carefully investigating the situation.

Our direction going forward:
Although the exact method is yet to be determined, we are currently working on a patch to address issues caused by the connection processing and to improve certain connection processes. The release timing will be announced once the patch is ready. We appreciate your continued patience.

For more information on any present or future developments, please refer to the Guilty Gear official Twitter account, as well as the official Guilty Gear -Strive- homepage.

Finally, we sincerely apologize for any obscurity in our communication and for the delay regarding our company’s ongoing efforts to address these recent issues with the game and improve online network stability and security. In addition, any and all feedback regarding these and other issues, as well as opinions or requests for improving our games, are always welcome and appreciated.

Your continued patronage is very important to us, and we will do everything in our power to further enhance your Guilty Gear -Strive- gaming experience.

We thank all users for your support and understanding.

Apr 14, 2023

v. 0.3.8

Horde Hunters - vaanttibiz

Hello. This update took a bit longer than expected, but it just might be the biggest one yet! Lots of goodies and changes in this, see the detailed changelog below.

General

Game build is compiled to native code resulting in a roughly 100% performance boost (your mileage may vary though)
Leaderboards have been moved to a custom system that allows more details over run such as the character used and time played. All leaderboards have been reset with a new seed
New melee weapon: Tomahawk Axe
New melee weapon: War Fan
New magic weapon: Fire Staff
New magic weapon: Acid Rain
New item: Monocle - Increased critical hit chance for all weapons (50%)
New item: Power Bracelet - +25-100% damage for all player weapons within the Aura
New item: Safety Bracelet - +25-100% damage resistance within the Aura
New item: Time Bracelet - +25-100% enemy slowdown within the Aura
Modified weapon: Fire Cape changed to inflict DPS damage
Modified weapon: Shield 100% bonus changed to double range instead of size
Modified weapon: Staff initial attack rate changed from 1.5s to 1.7s
Modified weapon: Light Wand initial attack rate changed from 2.5s to 3s
Modified item: Frequent Buyer Card now also gives 10% discount on everything
Modified item: Weighted Dice now also gives a free reroll on level up. Shop rerolls dropped from 2 to 1
Modified power-up: Miner no longer does increased damage to gold ores, but a shorter time is spent in Mine
Modified power-up: Speed has an additional level
The setting "Enter buildings automatically" no longer exists. Buildings are accessed with a key (if required). Directions to enter buildings and start missions have been moved on top of the player
Mine no longer depletes and is now entered. Gold amount depends on how long you stay in. Player has 2s invulnerability when exiting mine
Healing Pond also recharges ability fully
Titus no longer has a speed debuff
Nicolaus has no charisma bonus anymore, but increased perception instead
Jester is not penalized for whatever type the secondary weapon is and can carry other weapons of that type without penalties
All characters start with 2 consumables instead of 1
All characters' movement speed is faster by default. Agility no longer increases movement speed
More than one fire or destroy mission can appear at the same time in late-game and they also have a shorter timer
Enemy portals have increased health and nearby enemies get 10% faster when portal is attacked for the first time
Elite fireball quantity, damage and size will increase indefinitely as time goes on. Projectile speed is slower but hit detection is more accurate to player (was a lot more forgiving before)
Endless enemy kill multiplier changed from 1x to 0.5x
Endless time multiplier changed from 5x to 6x
Flyby enemies will have a shield after 15min of playtime
Some adjustments to enemy speed, life and damage over time
Flying enemies are faster than ground units
Terrain movement speed is displayed on screen (if not 100%)
Some variation in tree and boulder sizes
"Ability Blocked" changed to "Ability Blocked by Elite" for player to understand what's happening

Bugs

Jester's secondary weapon and consumable were not random in endless maps due to fixed seed
Filthy Rags gives weapon penalties despite not having a type
Crash on game start if save file was somehow empty
Fire Cape effect did not adhere to the projectile transparency setting