Happy end of summer! In celebration of ELS being a part of Steam Strategy Fest, I've updated the game to version 1.05 and added a few fixes and a tweaked difficulty option. Details to follow!
Changes in 1.05
Revamped difficulty settings for Hard and Expert modes. Note that Challenge battles are unaffected.
Even more typos fixed. Lots of typos. So many typos.
Fixed some visual effects that would improperly jump around during a reaction attack.
Fixed an issue where multiple reactions could continue to trigger after the original attacker was defeated.
Fixed a graphical issue when using Snap Shot with a thrown weapon.
Sped up the enemy Data Disruption skill.
New difficulty changes for Hard and Expert modes! I've been streaming ELS and offering up some developer commentary to celebrate the console releases, and I've noticed that I've more or less been steamrolling through the game even on Expert difficulty. So, I've changed up the formulas for Hard and Expert difficulty to hopefully create a properly difficult experience for anyone seeking a challenge. Here's a quick sample of how an enemy changes with each setting:
The main differences are:
A bit more Skill, HP, and SP growth.
Small base speed boosts.
RES increases.
Expert foes still gain an extra AP.
Does not affect Normal or lower difficulties, or Challenge battles.
The biggest thing to note is the additional RES on enemies. The enemy's species is now more important than ever, as the RES bonus granted is greatly increased. RES bonuses granted from the combat class are also boosted. All told, this means that targeting weaknesses and debuffing RES are more important than ever!
Hopefully this gives a healthy level of steady challenge for those who seek it. These changes will be coming to the console versions in September.
Thanks for stopping by! ːrikː
End-of-May Update
Hello! The game's finally going through console certification as we speak, so I thought I'd bring over some tweaks and fixes in the meantime. Here's a brief list of what's changed:
The skill Noxious Strike now has a proper throwing animation when used with missile weapons.
The "Technician" NPC class has had its weapon kit and skills revamped to be a mobile, aggressive ranged attacker.
Slightly reduced the melee skill growth of the Bloodthrob class.
Fixed an issue where clicking/choosing a target during an attack animation could make the target info box appear.
The engineer's Dampening effect now correctly diminishes magical healing such as Quick Pickup.
Increased mobility of enemy gravbenders.
Fixed an issue where activating Melee Counter with a dynamo weapon equipped in the main hand would cause the shooting animation to play. No more laser fists, sorry.
Improved enemy AI in several ways.
Slightly improved game speed and performance in small ways.
Allies no longer gain Tension at the start of a turn for free when above 50%.
Fixed an issue where running out of AP on an attack that triggered a dialog scene would improperly cause the end-of-turn notification to appear.
Modified how the AI treats Unique skills. They should be much more willing to trigger their Unique skills ASAP now.
Replaced the "High" and "Low" arrows with more visible versions.
Stay cool!
End-of-April Patch
Just a quick update with some small fixes of things I've noticed while wrapping up the testing on the console ports. I should be submitting those for final QA next month, with a release this summer. Exciting! Here's today's updates in the meantime:
Fix the skill Wave Disruption to correctly apply the RES values in the description.
Small tweaks to the lighting in the late game and on some maps.
Adjusted positioning of some skill particle effects.
Added some small optimizations that may improve performance and AI processing time.
"Oath Broken" should no longer trigger if an entity (such as a drone) is defeated.
Update Notes for April 16, 2023
Time for a little spring cleaning, so to speak. Here's what's changed:
Fixed several small inconsistencies when using gamepad navigation.
AI units are more likely to defend if they are at low health or are otherwise a "squishy" class.
Fixed an issue where the taunt effect applied from the Thundering Howl skill was immediately fading.
Thundering Howl is no longer flagged as magic, or as a "melee" skill.
Slightly boosted the "damage" inflicted by the enemy reaction skill Data Denial, meaning it should no longer miss almost every time.
The duration of the confusion effect from Data Denial has been reduced from 3 turns to 2.
The engagement "Just Chill" has had its base level corrected from 3 to 13.
Fixed an issue where using an AOE attack against many targets could result in no Tension gain.
The "!" mark for a Unique skill being usable should no longer appear if the current unit has Disable status.
Fixed an issue where the "NEW" flag for character classes would inconsistently be removed when clicking on the class in the Class Setup screen.
April Update!
Hello! I have been preoccupied with the console versions, recovery from a hack, and a much-needed vacation, and I recently (as in, today) became aware of some glitches that the last Unity upgrade might have introduced in the previous update. I have hopefully solved them all with today's update, but please don't be afraid to post or message me if you notice anything that looks wrong - I don't bite!
Here's what I've addressed today:
Fixed the trajectory of thrown projectiles to appear less erratic.
Fixed an issue where the play time clock could incorrectly count up at a faster rate than intended.
The Engineer class will now correctly begin with the Construct Barrier skill. This is not retroactive, but the skill has been changed to cost 0 Mastery so it can be acquired anytime as intended.
Fixed a render issue with the commander records screen.
Fixed an issue where visiting characters would appear super tiny!
Fixed a graphical glitch with choice hotkeys during visitor dialog sequences.
Thanks for stopping by! ːrikː
[UPDATE: RESOLVED] Discord Hacked! Beware!
UPDATE: I've regained control of things. However, quite a lot of damage was done to the old server and my account, so I've decided to scrap it and start fresh. If you were an old community member and wish to join the new server, reach out to me here or on Twitter.
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So, turns out, I'm not too bright sometimes, and the Sungazer Software discord community has been compromised. If you're a member, bail out now. I'll post a link to the new server when the dust settles. And if you received a message from me (Space Lizard) on Discord, disregard it!
Discord Hacked! Beware!
So, turns out, I'm not too bright sometimes, and the Sungazer Software discord community has been compromised. If you're a member, bail out now. I'll post a link to the new server when the dust settles. And if you received a message from me (Space Lizard) on Discord, disregard it!
Announcement: A New Demo is On the Way!
The ELS Battle Demo was originally put together for Steam Next Fest last fall, and it's fallen pretty far behind as far as updates, tweaks, and performance improvements. Needless to say, the old Battle Demo is going away this week and is being replaced with a proper demo version!
This new demo will start you off at the beginning of the main game and let you experience the first few weeks of content and the story from either starting faction. In addition, new players will be able to carry their saved demo progress into the full game!
Because of the substantial change to the package, the new demo version will be a bit larger in size. Be sure to uninstall the existing Battle Demo if you do not wish to download the replacement files.
I'm doing a bit more testing and whatnot, but expect the new demo sometime this week. Thanks!
Update Notes for January 26
Quite a lot of small fixes today as I shake out and refactor things in anticipation of the console ports. Here's a brief list!
Changed dialog/cutscene handling to hopefully perform better on lower-end systems.
Changed a few graphical settings to help improve performance on lower-end hardware.
Increased the tension granted for area-of-effect heals.
Fixed an issue where allied characters could act out of order during the opening tutorial battles.
Fixed several inconsistencies with gamepad tabbing on the interface.
Fixed an issue where UI feedback sounds could become improperly pitched in battle.
Fixed an issue where target reaction warnings could be shown improperly.
Fixed an issue where portraits could cover up the Attack Preview window when UI scale was set to maximum.
Fixed an issue where UI elements could improperly appear on screen at the start of battle when UI scale was set to maximum.
Fixed an issue where it could be difficult to select Ekrett on the world map.
Refactored some AI processing to hopefully help speed up the process.
Fixed incorrect information in the crafting tutorial message.
Fixed an issue where multiple Astral Ally units could be summoned.
Reduced the size of the interactive "hot spot" on portraits in battle. This was causing conflicts with the menu at larger UI scales.
Quick Update for Jan 11th
Small update for today:
-Fixed an issue with tabbing on the title screen gamepad popup. -Fixed an issue with tabbing on the battle deployment screen. -Fixed an issue where the ability setup screen was failing to display a character's complete list of reaction skills.
