For Next Fest, we're giving you access to two of Summerfall's wonderful minds as they play through the LudoNarraCon demo from earlier this year!

Hear our Art Director Ben, and Social Content Specialist Katy talk through artistic inspirations, designing characters, variety in songs and choices - all while they highlight some of their favourite moments.

You can catch their chat on Thursday at 11AM AEST / Wed 6pm PT.

At other times, you can catch the VOD of our Myth and Music event from April, as well as previous content not live anywhere else - so stay tuned to hang out and celebrate the upcoming August 3rd release of Stray Gods!

- Level 3: minor light tweaks in dark areas;
- Level 8: added 1 checkpoint after playing;
- Level 9: 1'st dialogue minor fix;
- Level 10: a tweak in flying plasma trajectories, and enemies' health; lowered Cain requirements for the last dialogue branch;

All annoying bugs and 'blockers' are fixed now.
In an ideal world, the game release version should be at least on that level! But hey! Just did my best to fix it asap.
A few minor 'todo' still could wait for next weekend.
So I will stop this new nightly builds 'patching combo' and proceed with 1 update per 1-2 weeks updates.

Feel free to give immediate feedback in case of any annoying bugs/blockers.
Cheers

The demo for Skirmish Mayhem is available now during Steam Next Fest!

Improved deserted map
improved some VFX
slight improvement to graphics across all maps
slight changes to HUD
audio improvements

This patch includes some minor fixes and hopefully squashes any infinite loading-screen bugs.
Please let us know if any of these issues persist in the comments or in our Official Discord!

Fixes

• Fixed an issue where players would get stuck in spectator mode if they were the last to die.
  
• Fixed infinite loading screens when failing to join a lobby for any reason. (Invalid password, lobby full, incompatible version, server timeout, etc.)
  
• Fixed an issue where you couldn't cancel or close the password prompt when joining a lobby.

Changes

• Can now smack the return key to submit when joining password-protected lobbies.
  
• Improved timing for game-ending transitions to be less quick/jarring.

Stick warriors, rejoice! We have exciting news to share! Holy Stick! is thrilled to be a part of Steam Next Fest, and we invite you to join us in this great opportunity!

🔥 Unleash the Chaos:
Head over to the Holy Stick! Steam store page and download the demo to embark on an adrenaline-fueled adventure. Our game offers a wide selection of costumes, voices, weapons, and game modes that promise endless hours of fun. Experience the thrill of split-screen battles with up to 4 players on your couch or challenge online opponents in intense multiplayer showdowns. Prepare for the unexpected with the mysterious Craziness System, which keeps the gameplay fresh and exciting!

🎈 Join Our Discord Community:
We encourage you to join our lively Discord community to make the most of this exciting event. Share your experiences, offer feedback, and connect with fellow stick warriors to discuss the gameplay and find friends to play with. Our dedicated developers and passionate community members are eager to engage with you and answer any questions you may have. Join our Discord server here: https://discord.com/invite/AN89v75M65


✨ Your Feedback Matters:
Your feedback is invaluable to us as we continue to fine-tune and improve Holy Stick! We genuinely appreciate your thoughts on the gameplay, mechanics, and overall experience. Join our Discord community, hop into the designated feedback channels, and let us know your impressions. Together, we can shape Holy Stick! into an even more exhilarating gaming experience!

📢 Spread the Word:
If you have friends who love action-packed games, share the news about Holy Stick! and Steam Next Fest. Invite them to join the community, play the demo, and participate in the chaos alongside you. The more, the merrier! 🎊

We hope you will enjoy our demo! ✨

Hello Everyone!

This is a big one, the first of two armor updates that replace all models in the game. This update replaces all militia models with era approriate outfits inspired by and created directly from historical references.




All militia units are now wearing new armor, there are still some updates coming up to the models with some cool archeological findings from the low countries.


This update also contains a lot of gameplay changes. Formation charge behavior has been revampled completley and now connects correctly from all angles. Formations spacing has been revamped: low level units now have a bigger spacing than before and high level units a tighter spacing greatly increasing cohesion and combat effectiveness. Fighting now takes into account a height advantage giving a damage bonus to units on higher ground.

Polearm units are now far more deadly against cavalry making them a viable option in your army. This goes along with the removal of the overpowered chainmail based polearm units that feudal factions had.



The frisians have a new skirmisher unit that uses throwing spears and operates at close distance. Spears can penetrate shields and can be thrown in rapid succession at the enemy. When drawn into melee or out of projectiles they can stand their ground very well in combat with a spear and shield combination. Watch out for these guys!



Ranged units now have limited ammo and a revamped set of firing modes. When ammo is depleted the archer formation will behave as a melee formation. Ranged formations start in a new selective fire mode that only targets formations that are not near friendly units preventing friendly fire. You can cycle through fire modes to set them to forced fire, this will make them target enemy formations even when close to friendly formations or hold fire.



When starting up the game you will be presented with a choice between two gameplay modes. These are a certain combination of gameplay settings also accessible through the options menu that allow you to shape the gameplay to your liking. You can always select a new mode through the options menu.


Thank you for all the support so far, stay tuned for more updates. Next up are the armors of the knights!

If you have bugs, questions, complaints or anything, let me know in the discussions!

This update is due to shifted unit offsets not compatible with previous savegames.

Full Changelog:

• Only show two handed stance text when actually switching to two handed stance
  
• Update game credits
  
• Fix player weapon initialization logic
  
• Remove redundant controls from input config
  
• Fix bug of commander spawning mounted in a siege battle
  
• Change hold fire command to cycle fire mode
  
• Add selective fire mode for archers: only target free standing enemy formations. This is the new default fire mode. Can override to always fire using the cycle fire mode command.
  
• Bind possessing formations to the top face button for gamepad
  
• Fix jittery injured crawl animation
  
• Rename Horichede with shield to Keerlen, implying free farmers
  
• Update unit descriptions
  
• Add penetrate armor flag for missiles: instant kill on chainmail units
  
• Throwing spears and crossbow bolts penetrate armor
  
• Add base class savegame to check save versions without crashing
  
• Add screen to select cinematic or realistic mode on first game load: this automatically sets up gameplay settings for an optimal experience.
  
• Add show enemy formation markers toggle: show kill markers on enemy formations
  
• Add toggle for friendly unit health bonus: Friendly units get 1.5x health
  
• Add directional combat to player on foot: move mouse or gamepad right stick to determine attack direction
  
• Add toggle for sunny weather frequency
  
• Arrow hit to the player is now instant kill on realistic player damage
  
• A lance hit to the player is now an instant kill on realistic player damage
  
• If an army only fields ranged units they will count towards morale balance
  
• Add toggle for slowmotion effects
  
• Slightly increase knockdown sound volume
  
• Tweak snow footstep volumes
  
• Fix archer hand animation
  
• Tweak gamepad controls on foot
  
• Fix mounted gamepad controls
  
• Increase mounted camera distance 1.5x
  
• Retexture first person crossbow
  
• Retexture high res crossbow bolt
  
• Retexture crossbow to be completely wood
  
• Fix anti cavalry stake damage direction calculation
  
• Change default infantry formation size to 75 (from 60)
  
• Prevent AI from breaking formation to run after player
  
• The minimal food cost of all units is now 1
  
• Refactor gamepad controls to virtual cursor in campaign
  
• Add some new deployment strategies for AI Commander
  
• Prevent AI commander from setting up a static defense position when attacking
  
• Fix dismounted cavalry making horse noises during siege battles
  
• Tweak unit weapons
  
• Various code optimizations
  
• Add stakes support to Frisian fanatics unit
  
• Remove support for fire bolts for crossbows, now only archers support fire arrows
  
• Reduce formation skirmish run cooldown time
  
• Add spear throwing skirmisher unit for Frisia, is ranged unit but can stand their ground as a melee unit
  
• Add first person character for skirmisher unit
  
• Unify Unit icon logic
  
• Tweak arrow death reactions
  
• Add a limited amount of arrows to archer and crossbow formations, if out of arrows they will draw their sidearm
  
• Siege defenders have triple the amount of arrows
  
• Replace first person meshes
  
• Replace fire arrow model
  
• Add new Frisian militia unit models
  
• Add new Feudal militia unit models
  
• Knocking down a unit on horse does some damage
  
• Ranged units spawn in loose formation
  
• Add new kletsie model
  
• Remove polearm sergeants unit
  
• Fix cavalry reporting cavalry charge
  
• Replace bow with more historical representative version
  
• Decrease formation spacing for infantry
  
• Low level units now have bigger spacing than before, high level units less
  
• Speed up unit targeting when first starting fighting
  
• Prevent AI from using battle addons before building engineers guild
  
• Implement officer weapon system, add weapon data for officer weapons
  
• Unit targeting optimizations
  
• Increase unit targeting range
  
• Greatly improve formation charge behavior and angle calculations
  
• Optimize hit detection code
  
• Add small chance of polearm unit rearing enemy horse and killing the rider
  
• Add damage bonus to cavalry for polearm militia
  
• Polearm militia can now brace against cavalry
  
• Add new militia weapon models
  
• Refactored shield bash: When hitting a blocking unit they will only stagger, when the victim is not blocking they will fall down
  
• Units on higher ground deal more damage to units on lower ground
  
• Tweak AI Cavalry behavior
  
• Player only takes damage from enemy horse knockdowns
  
• Lower player finisher chance
  
• Fix bug causing player to own more food than the stockpile allows
  
• Fix beard surcoats of Frisian commanders

Join the developer for an exhilarating demonstration playthrough on legendary difficulty, where you'll learn invaluable techniques to achieve the highest score in SolarBlack. Witness firsthand the strategies and skills that will elevate your gameplay to new heights.

In addition to the thrilling playthrough, we invite you to become a part of our vibrant community at solarblack.net. By joining us, you'll have the opportunity to connect with fellow gamers, share your experiences, and stay up-to-date with the latest news and updates. We value your feedback and are eager to hear your thoughts on the game, as your input plays a vital role in shaping the SolarBlack experience.

Prepare to be inspired as you embark on this epic journey alongside the developer. Unleash your potential, unlock hidden secrets, and dominate SolarBlack's legendary difficulty. Together, let's forge an unforgettable gaming experience and foster a community bound by shared passion and excitement. Join us now and let your voice be heard!

• Weapon fixes and value tweaks (Such as multiplier for the contact weapons and frequency of calculations of continuous weapons).
  
• Weapon info pop up added showing more detailed information
  
• Effectiveness classification of continuous weapons changed
  
• Trap picker built in (hidden for this drop, still working on getting it to work right)
  
• Weapon flavour text is a placeholder for now, that will change soon.
  
• Super weapons and their specials are still in progress, next drop!
  
• Changed the way weapons are loaded internally to allow me to show stats without having the weapon actually loaded.

• added ability to skip 1st level (the level with cutscene)
  
• added back collectibles
  
• polished UI elements
  
• Re
• enabled menu from gameplay
  
• added michael, the archangel, the npc to kick you off once the cinematic is over
  
• minor tweaks on platformer level

• more combat ... with demons