- DELETED: Arenas for random enemy encounters

Added 2 more systems.

Tooltips now display what stats are being changed, and how those systems are changing those stats:



Enemies in close proximity now swarm together instead of clumping.



Fixed a rare bug where some systems could be "re-dropped", instead of dropping a system you don't yet have.

Thanks for playing the demo!

A feedback system has been added regarding why the game cannot be started in the lobby. Issues related to the game start button have been resolved.

• The Link Bonus effect has been improved.
• At Link Level 10, you can now use all 3 Elemental Instillments simultaneously.

• Instillments will deactivate if either your Mana or Stamina are exhausted and will reactivate again when both are above 100.
• When multiple Elemental Instillments are activated, the consumption rate will increase based on how many Instillments are active.
• The Minimum and Maximum Damage effects now stack when multiple Elemental Instillments are activated.

• The Minimum and Maximum Damage Increases have increased for most skill ranks.
  • Example: Based on various ranks of the Skill:
    • Rank F: +1.1% (0.5% → 1.6%)
    • Rank 2: +0.4% (2.5% → 2.9%)
    • Rank 1: No Change (3% → 3%)

• The Minimum and Maximum Damage Increases have decreased for each skill rank.
  • Example: Based on various ranks of the Skill:
    • Rank F: -0.4% (1.0% → 0.6%)
    • Rank 1: -3.0% (5% → 2%)

• The Minimum and Maximum Damage Increases have changed for each skill rank.
  • Example: Based on various ranks of the Skill:
    • Rank F: +2.6% (1% → 3.6%)
    • Rank 1: -1.0% (6% → 5%)

• Additional Effects have been added while using Instills.
  • Example: Based on Rank 1:
    • Instill Flame: 400% Additional Damage
    • Instill Frost: Reduce’s target’s Movement Speed and Attack Speed by 20% for 5 seconds.
    • Instill Thunder: Pulls all stricken enemies to the target’s location

• Damage Calculations have been changed.
  
  • Before: Windmill Rank Damage + Base Damage + Additional Damage after Frozen Effect ends.
    • Example: Based on Rank 1:
      • Windmill Rank Damage + 300% of Base Damage + 1200% After Frozen Damage
  • After: Windmill Rank Damage + Increased Base Damage.
    • Example: Based on Rank 1:
      • Windmill Rank Damage + 1500% of Base Damage.
• Additional Effects have been added while using Instills.
  • Example: Based on Rank 1:
    • Instill Flame: 450% Additional Damage
    • Instill Frost: Attack Radius +2 meters
    • Instill Thunder: 500% Damage to Enemies every 2 seconds for 5 seconds.
• Cooldown has been reduced from 12 seconds to 10 seconds.
• Increased the duration of frozen enemies at higher ranks.
  • Example: Based on Rank 5 to 1:
    • Ranks 5-2: 4 seconds
    • Rank 1: 5 seconds
• The duration of the Frozen Status effect now resets when Shattering Windmill is used again while the target is still frozen.

• Additional Effects have been added while using Instills.
  • Example: Based on Rank 1:
    • Instill Flame: 600% Additional Damage
    • Instill Frost: 1200% Additional Damage to Enemies frozen by Shattering Windmill
    • Instill Thunder: Attack Width +2 meters; Attack Length +5 meters

#Discussions_QuoteBlock_Author

【 Developer Comments 】

To create a better play pattern and play experience, the development team decided to allow simultaneous use of Instill Element, granting Elemental Knights the benefits of all three Instillments (Flame, Frost, Thunder) at once. Additionally, the additional effects that each Instillment grants to the primary skills (Blazing Assault Slash, Shattering Windmill, Dynavolt Smash) have been modified to increase the link between skills as well as to provide utility and benefits to individual skills, such as increased attack range and pulling enemies inward.

As we are increasing the power of Instill Element, the upkeep cost (Mana, Stamina) will increase when multiple Instillments are activated. Our intention is that players will consider their situation and increased upkeep cost, selecting which and how many Instillments to use accordingly, rather than having all three elements up at all times. Each additionally applied Instillment will grant further increased damage, so we have adjusted the damage increase granted by each element.

• The Link Bonus effects have been improved at the following levels:
  • Link Level 6
    • Warmth of Life is now granted to the caster when allies are standing in Pulse of Purification’s area of effect.
  • Link Level 8
    • A new Veil of Life effect is applied when healing an ally or self with Hand of Restoration or Echoes of Salvation.
      • Veil of Life converts healing into a shield at the default healing amount when a player is at full health with no wounds.
      • The Veil of Life condition lasts for 60 seconds or when the shield has been exhausted, whichever comes first.
      • The Veil of Life will reduce incoming damage by 50%.
      • Those under the effect of Veil of Life will be immune to most knockback and stun.
  • Link Level 9
    • Pulse of Purification no longer recovers HP and Wounds for allies within range by 160 upon inflicting damage to enemies.
      • Now grants Warmth of Life at Link Level 6.
    • Grants Music Buff +3
    • Pulse of Purification Radius +3 meters

• Now heals wounds for each skill rank:
  • Example: Based on various ranks of the Skill:
    • Rank F: +100 Wound Recovery
    • Rank 1: +250 Wound Recovery
• MP and Stamina recovery are now instantaneous rather than increased recovery speed.
• Additional MP and Stamina recovery based on the Rank of Enduring Melody’s recovery speed.

• Voice of Vitality’s Effect will now remain even when incapacitated.

• If the health of an ally or self is below 10% or in Deadly status, casting Blessing of Protection will now restore health up to 10%.

• The usage method for the skill has been changed so that you can click the area that you wish to cast the skill.
• Numerous changes have been made for each rank.
  • Example: Based on Rank 1.
    • Deals 3,000 Magic Damage/second to enemies within the skill’s radius.
    • Restores 200 HP, MP, and Stamina per second.
    • Grants Stun and Knockdown Immunity to allies within the skill’s radius.
    • Deals an additional 10,800 Magic Damage after the skill ends to any enemies remaining in the skill’s radius.
  • Casting Time has been reduced from 2 seconds to 1 second.
  • Cooldown has been drastically reduced from 360 seconds to 60 seconds.
  • Now only consumes Mana upon use.
  • The skill can now be canceled by using the skill again while activated.
  • The skill’s Piercing Effect has been removed.
• Visibility of the Skill’s Effect has been enhanced.

• A new skill acquired upon reaching Level 3 of Harmonic Saint.
• Provides a chance for the next use of Enduring Melody, March Song, or Harvest Song to stack with other Musical Buffs.
  • Example: Based on various ranks of the Skill:
    • Rank F: 30% Strength of Buff
    • Rank 9: 60% Strength of Buff
    • Rank 5: 80% Strength of Buff
    • Rank 1: 100% Strength of Buff
  • Only 2 Musical Buffs can be active at the same time.
  • You are unable to stack the same Musical Buff.

【 Developer Comments 】

Harmonic Saint has been modified to maintain its role as party support. Some of the less meaningful Arcana Link effects have been adjusted, and a brand new effect Veil of Life has been added into Link Level 8. Hand of Restoration and Echoes of Salvation are powerful heals, but are limited to only healing missing health, so it can be difficult to respond immediately to every situation. With Link Level 8, Veil of Life will activate when healing those with full health, and provide an additional shield proportional to the strength of the heal cast. This effect will allow Harmonic Saints to apply preemptive support.

When considering that higher difficulty dungeons require more active play, the development team decided to allow continuous party support even while using Pulse of Purification. We felt this would allow for a more positive and synergistic experience. Additionally, by reducing the immediate damage output of the skill and supplementing it with a highly reduced cooldown and a party member support effect, Harmonic Saints will be able to leverage Pulse of Purification more often in combat. We hope you enjoy it!

Lastly, a new skill, Polyphonic Melody, has been added to increase the Harmonic Saint's contribution to the party. However, we have found that with Share Music Buffs settings, the best possible buff combination would be different for various talents, and some talents may not be able to fully benefit from such situations or require different combinations from others, causing those talents to be less favored in parties. Thus, we decided to limit the songs that can be activated with the Polyphonic Melody to Enduring Melody, March Song, and Harvest Song to allow each member of the party to benefit from the buff effects while keeping the Harmonic Saint's party contribution ability intact.

• Stacks now decrease by 1 instead of all stacks when the retention timer ends.
• Fixed an issue where the skill could not be used on enemies in Finish State.

• Now accounts for sizes of enemies when measuring distance.
• Enemies hit by Rage Impact now have the debuff applied to them for the entire duration.
• Debuff duration decreased from 10 seconds to 7 seconds.
• Melee Attack Bonus Damage has been decreased at all ranks.
  • Example: Based on Rank 1:
    • Reduced from 50% to 15%.
• Glyphs with the Rage Impact Skill augment have had the Melee Attack Bonus Damage reduced from 1% to 0.3% per level.
• Imperial Knight Gloves have

【 Developer Comments 】

Rage Impact previously would increase the strength of the next melee attack’s damage after it was applied onto a target. However, when factoring in party play, it was very likely that this effect would be consumed unintentionally, making it difficult to fully utilize this damage increase. 

To resolve this, we modified the effect from the skill. Targets affected by Rage Impact will now take increased damage from all melee attacks during its duration. In order to keep this balanced, we have adjusted the duration and damage increase. 

We have also adjusted the Rage Impact enhancement effects to match this change. Like Rage Impact, the damage multiplier for the enhancements have decreased, but will now apply for all melee damage applied during the duration. We expect this to increase synergistic use in combat.

• The chances of performing Excellent and Inspiring Performances have been increased at higher ranks.

After 4 months of renovation, Fahmes Ruin Dungeon is open to Milletians once more!

• Fahmes Ruin Dungeon has been added to the Dungeon Guide.
  • New UI has been added to allow you to teleport directly to the Dungeon Entrance.
  • Clicking the Ruin Stone will open Fahmes page in the Dungeon Guide UI.
• The dungeon is restricted to Milletians level 5,000 or higher.
• The dungeon consists of 6 Stages with 5 Floors each for a total of 30 Floors.
  • Each floor consists of 3 waves of mobs that can be triggered at any time.
  • You will be given the choice of one “Stage Buff” upon entering the stage.
    • Bonus Damage +15%
    • Movement Speed +30% & Protection/Magic Protection +100%
    • Auto-Revival x3
    • Bachram Speed +500%
  • The ranking system has been reworked for bragging rights only.
  • Monthly Rewards have been updated.
    • The monthly rewards will be reset with the 1st Thursday of each month at 7:00 AM (Server Time).
• A star reward system has been implemented.
  • You can earn up to 3 stars per floor through the following conditions:
    • Complete the Floor.
    • Complete the Floor in under 3 minutes.
    • Complete the Floor in under 1 minute.
  • You can earn new Journal Achievements and one-time rewards.
    • The Journal Achievements will be awarded to all characters on your account.
    • The star rewards are once per account.
  • **NEW** Rewards include:
    • Homestead Stamina Fahmes Ruin Figure
      • +100 Stamina
    • Homestead MP Fahmes Ruin Figure
      • +100 MP
    • Homestead HP Fahmes Ruin Figure
      • +100 HP
    • Homestead Patience Fahmes Ruin Figure
      • +1 Defense
      • +1 Protection
      • +1 Magic Defense
      • +1 Magic Protection
    • Homestead Courage Fahmes Ruin Figure
      • +2 Defense
      • +2 Protection
      • +2 Magic Defense
      • +2 Magic Protection
    • Homestead Rage Fahmes Ruin Figure
      • +3 Defense
      • +3 Protection
      • +3 Magic Defense
      • +3 Magic Protection
    • Fahmes Ruin Copper/Silver/Gold Coin
    • Rest Skill Animation Card
      
    • Champion of Fahmes Ruin 2nd Title Coupon
      • +12 Defense
      • +11 Protection
      • +14 Magic Defense
      • +8 Magic Protection
      • +3% Movement Speed
    • 

The Blacklist system has been updated.

• The Blacklist system is now separate from the friend list and has been moved to the Options.
  • Settings → Game → Chat → Blacklist Setting
  • Blacklisted players in your Friends list will be moved to the Blacklist Settings list.
• The Blacklist capacity has been increased from 60 to 300.
• When a player has been Blacklisted:
  • Their character model will not be visible on screen.
  • Direct Messages and Notes will not be received.
  • Sound Effects are not heard.
  • Their Demigod Form will not be visible.
  • Props and Chairs set up will not be visible on screen.
  • Their PvP requests will be automatically rejected/ignored.
    • It is still possible to be hit by a Blacklisted player in EvG/PvDK however.
  • Their conversation and speech bubbles will not be visible.
  • Marriage Proposals are automatically ignored.
  • Couple Link Effects will not be visible. (i.e. Rose Couples Bracelet)
  • The option to request becoming the player’s Soulmate will not be available (during Doki Doki Event).

• The reward selection panel has been updated.
  • You can now select the quantity.
• 

Curious to know what else was added? Be sure to check out the full Patch Notes!
(Available after the update is live)

{LINK REMOVED}

Great things have happened for this month and that means we are closer to releasing Update 1! With all the work done on the 3 new levels, I am moving forward to focusing on performance improvements, bugs, and a couple of new mechanic polishing. We should be starting some testing groups soon to get a feel for items that still need to be worked on. I hope you are continue to get those skills up because there will be new challenges coming with this update and it will be a new level of competition. Hop into Discord and see if anyone is looking for a game and in the meantime, play away and practice up!

~The Collar is getting bigger.

Turkish translation added!

You can access the language options from Preference.

We also released a fix to a problem introduce in the September 1st patch. New players who started the game for the first time since that build would inadvertently unlock 12 out 14 achievements among unlocking their first one. This is due to an error by myself, where I uploaded a debug save to the Steam build my mistake. My sincere apologies.

Unfortunately, this fix only works for those who installed the game in-between the last patch and today's and haven't launch the game. If the game crashes the first time it launches, that's the script working. Please attempt to launch the game again, everything should be fixed then. For those who already experienced the achievement bug, It is beyond my ability to check which user fell victim to my stupidity and fix everything via a simple script, I am sorry. If you do want to fix it and reset your achievement progress, please contact us either in the Steam forums or Discord.

I made Lovebugz to have fun with bugs while also teaching about insects. I try my best to give each arthropod proper justice, but I messed up with the butterfly's original design. This update fixes that and gives Greta a new proper limb count. There's also more grass.

I'm working on improving the behavior of the enemies. I’ve started with a straightforward behavior and gradually improved it to make it more interesting. At the moment, I'm focusing on enemies with a ranged attack capability.

Initially, the simplest approach was for the enemies to move toward the player character as soon as they noticed them. Each enemy had a maximum distance at which it wanted to keep the player, so they would move closer if the player ran away.

Here’s a visualization to show what each enemy is doing. The location each enemy is trying to reach is shown with a sphere on the ground, with a line demonstrating a straight path from its current location. The colors of the lines and spheres show the enemy's status. Here, for example, enemies on the left have a clear line of sight to the player, but they are too far away and want to move closer. Their move targets are set to the player's location. They will move on a route to reach that location, but stop when they decide they are sufficiently close and have a clear line of sight. The enemy on the right has a clear line of sight and is close enough to the player, so it won't move.



The possible states are:

• Green - the enemy has a clear line of sight and is close enough to the player, so they won't move for now.
  
• Yellow - the enemy has a clear line of sight, but it is too far away from the player.
  
• Blue - the enemy lost sight of the player, and it will reposition to regain line of sight.
  
• Red - the enemy cannot find a path to the player. This can happen when the player closes a door, or other enemies block the path.
  
• Cyan - the enemy has yet to notice the player.

When enemies lose sight of the player character, they must move to a location with a clear line of sight. The simplest solution I’ve tried was that when an enemy loses sight of the player, it calculates a path to the player's position and follows it until the line of sight is clear again. This resulted in an unnatural-looking enemy behavior. When the player got behind a cover, all enemies started moving simultaneously. I made the enemies wait for a random period before repositioning, which made it more interesting.



However, moving along the shortest path to the player's location has some drawbacks. It results in very predictable behavior, and it sometimes makes the ranged enemies move too close to the player. A typical situation that results in poor enemy placement is when the player moves behind a small cover. Moving directly toward the player causes an enemy to reestablish the line of sight when it's almost at the player's position, often blocking the path of other enemies, as seen in the screenshot below.



The two enemies at the bottom moved very close to the player. As a result, they blocked the top right enemy's path.

To get a more exciting and challenging enemy placement and movement, the enemies must find target locations with a line of sight further away from the player. To achieve this, I periodically check how far obstacles are from the player's location in 16 directions. This generates 16 possible locations with a line of sight around the player. A location closer to the player can also be chosen in each direction. Here's a visualization showing how it works:



Once the possible locations are found, the enemies deciding to reposition must select a location to use. Not all found locations are good, though; some are too close to the player. Enemies will prefer to choose the locations that are further away from the player. They will also avoid locations directly on the opposite side of the player. Each enemy randomly decides on one of the found locations that meet these criteria. This makes them spread to different locations, making them harder to avoid. During the move, enemies can switch to a different target location if the selected one stops meeting the requirements.



Using this method, I’ve finally achieved the behavior I wanted. The enemies are now choosing a placement that gives them a clear line of sight for shooting but also allows them to keep some distance from the player in most situations. In larger groups, they tend to split into multiple directions and approach the player from different sides, making it more challenging and exciting.

Build a level that makes the player feel like they're the size of an ant with super-sized track decoration!

Looking for ideas? How about a course through a grass field where individual blades of grass are huge towering pillars or a track layout through a scaled up room in a house!

• Your track should be complete and submitted by Sunday, 22nd September 2024 at 18:00 BST
  
• Submissions will be combined into a single workshop item after the deadline above

1. You can only submit one level (you can modify or replace your submission as much as you like until the deadline)
   
2. Level collaborations are permitted (Maximum of 3 players per level. This counts as a level submission for each individual creator. Please name/mention collaborators when submitting)
   
3. The name of the level MUST start with "ZSL - " (e.g "ZSL - My Level")

1. No additional theme requirements

1. Scaling track pieces is permitted
   
2. Level MUST follow any theme requirements set above
   
3. Level MUST be under 4000 blocks
   
4. Level MUST have an author time above 20 seconds
   
5. Level MUST have an author time under 75 seconds (1m15s)
   
6. Level MUST have at least 2 checkpoints. Consider adding additional checkpoints for split timing or where it would prevent a cut, as cuts do not make for good tournament tracks!
   
7. Level MUST NOT have risky or hidden finishes/shortcuts (e.g blind shortcuts or using no-collision/invisible/logic blocks to hide a secret path that is NOT the intended route)

1. Join our Official Discord server
   
2. Upload the level to the Steam Workshop
   
3. Link the workshop item in the theme's thread in #level-submissions
   
   Don't have Discord? You can submit your entry by linking your workshop item in the comments section of this announcement post!

• Up to 15* of the submitted levels will be used for the next Zeepkist Super League event
  
• The community will vote on their favourite maps from the theme once submissions close
  
• Top 4 in the community votes for Best Decor and Best Track Layout will each win a special soapbox cosmetic in-game. Discord users will also get a `Level Contest Winner` role and 3,000 chat EXP in our Discord server.

* Subject to change depending on Season 4 Super League feedback

We're also hosting a themed banner contest for our Discord server banner image where you can win a special beret hat!!

The theme is Ant Sized and ends at the same time as this level contest!! View the banner contest event details on Discord

- Akane

Friends, I’m excited to share with you the latest development news, specifically what has been accomplished recently!

1. Sound has finally been added to the game (movement, combat, background music, etc.)
   
2. Settings for overall sound and music volume have been added
   
3. A hub location has been created and added (more details below)
   
4. Transitions between dungeons and the hub have been implemented, as well as loot transfer
   
5. Monster reactions to damage have been refined, with blood splatters added
   
6. A lantern has been added, which can be turned on and off to avoid complete darkness
   
7. Several NPCs have been placed in the hub, who will help with the story development and engage in trading (selling loot, buying equipment, etc.)

The hub will be the center for the development of your guild and the story. From the hub, you will venture into the Abyss, choosing which level to descend to. In the hub, you will sell and buy various items, as well as receive quests from NPCs. Additionally, the hub will feature a personal guild room, which you will be able to furnish and customize.