Hey everyone! Today we're gonna be talking about Luck be a Landlord's first major update since it was released: The Big Buffs Update. It's an upcoming Content Patch with about 30 buffs to different symbols and items.
As always, there will be a complete write-up of my reasoning for every balance change in the full v1.1 patch notes. Look forward to that when The Big Buffs Update releases on August 18th!
Why so many buffs?
An unavoidable reality of a game with a lot of randomness, like Luck be a Landlord, is that there will be runs that are unwinnable even while playing perfectly. My main goal with The Big Buffs Update is to reduce the number of games where this is the case, while not making the game any less fun.
Making the game effectively easier while not making it less fun can be a tough thing to do. For example, if the Cherry symbol that you start with gave 20 coins instead of 1 coin, the game would be a lot easier. However, it would be less fun since you wouldn't have any reason to take other symbols. This is an extreme example, but even increasing a symbol's base value by 1 coin can vastly change the game's fun factor in a negative way.
That being said, there are symbols that can have their values increased by just 1 coin without unbalancing the game. Let's take a look at a few of them:
Dog
The Dog symbol is one of the first symbols I added to the game, but it was only ever really worth taking if you already had Quigley the Wolf or a Comedian. It was just too risky otherwise.
By buffing the amount it gives when triggered by 1 coin, Dog will be powerful enough to be worth taking as one of your first symbol choices, and not one that is mostly ignored.
Card Shark
I increased Card Shark's base value by 1 coin for a similar reason. While Card Shark won't appear as early as Dog potentially can, it still feels like a symbol that you only take if you already have a synergy for it.
I've found that the Joker symbol was sometimes worth taking as a 3-coin symbol even if I didn't have any synergies with it. I would sometimes add a Suit or two later on if I already had the Joker.
Buffing Card Shark to give 3 coins instead of 2 coins will help create situations where it's a symbol worth taking without synergies, and a great symbol if/when you can get its synergies going.
Speaking of Card Shark synergies...
Suits
Suits are probably the symbol archetype that could use the most love. You may notice in the above screenshot that I didn't actually change the Suit symbols at all. Instead, I changed many of the items that Suits synergize with.
I did this to effectively increase the number of backup plans a player has when they decide to take their first suit symbol. Here's an example of that:
Previously, the Flush item was only useful if players were already heavily committed to Suits. With its new effect, it can basically be an "eject button" to a failed Suits run. It can also continue to provide value since it effectively turns all Suits into strictly better Wealthy Capsules.
A common request I've gotten from players is to start with a symbol buffing item like Happy Hour or Birdhouse. This would give players a goal if they don't know what kind of symbols to take early.
This has always stuck with me as a good idea, but maybe not the right execution for it. I think starting with, say, Happy Hour, could easily lead a new player into a tunnel-vision state where they only look for Dwarves, Beer, and Wine.
I've tried a bit of a different take on this idea with two more reworked Suit items:
Rather than the previous effect of buffing a build that's probably more-or-less complete by the time you find one of these items, I reworked them into potential build-enablers.
If a player already has a single Diamonds or Hearts and they see the Red Suits item as their 1st or 2nd item choice, they're likely to want to take Red Suits. That being said, there's still a few choices to be made.
Since these items take 7 spins to be destroyable, a player may decide not to destroy one of them if they've ended up with 20+ symbols in their inventory by the time destruction is a possibility. They might not even want to take the item at all if they're already on their 5th or 6th rent payment.
Wrapping Up...
There are many more symbols and items that will become more powerful with The Big Buffs Update, but you'll have to wait until August 18th to see and experience all of them!
Do keep in mind, the biggest goal with this patch is to increase players' overall winrate without reducing the game's fun factor. After extensive testing, I think I've achieved this, and I hope you all enjoy the game as much as I have while testing it.
-Dan
v1.0.44
The game has been patched to get ready for v1.1 (A small Content Patch)
Changes
Added a countdown timer for v1.1
Fixed a bug where the promo buttons weren't resetting to their default positions after being pressed
Fixed a bug where the patch text was offset incorrectly if the language was set to Thai
Fixed a typo in the description for Magic Key in Simplified Chinese and Russian
v1.0.43
The game has been patched to fix a few bugs.
Changes
Fixed where symbols could have their permanent bonuses and permanent multipliers applied multiple times on reload
Fixed where symbols that transform or grow were applying their final texture at the beginning of an animation (such as Coal instantly turning into Diamond when transforming instead of shaking first)
Fixed where symbols removed during a spin could visually remain if an effect was applied to them afterwards (such as a Diver removing a Pearl that is then buffed by a Dame)
v1.0.42
The game has been patched to fix a bug.
Changes
Fixed a bug introduced in v1.0.41 where values that are saved to symbols were being reset on reload
v1.0.41
The game has been patched to fix a few bugs with the Modding API.
Modding Changes
Fixed a bug where Steam IDs sometimes didn't get parsed properly at mod upload time (please update your existing mods via the mod uploader to fix this)
Fixed a bug where Coin icons in descriptions could have the wrong texture when changed with art_replacement
Fixed a bug where the fine print in the boss fight didn't work with modded existing_symbols
Fixed a bug where modded symbols didn't always initialize properly on continue
Fixed a bug where modded items that change symbol rarity didn't function properly
Fixed a bug where modded symbols and items that referenced modded existing_symbols and modded existing_items in their effects didn't function properly
Fixed a bug where Essences that apply permanent bonuses or permanent multipliers when destroyed didn't function properly if the Essences themselves were modded or the symbols they affect were modded
Fixed a bug where modded Three-Sided Dice, Five-Sided Dice, Bronze Arrows, Silver Arrows, Golden Arrows, Dogs, Bees, and Omelettes didn't function properly
Fixed a bug where modded Black Cats, Swear Jars, Swear Jar Essences, White Peppers, White Pepper Essences, Devil's Deals, Devil's Deal Essences, Coffee, Coffee Essences, Piggy Banks, Brown Peppers, Brown Pepper Essences, Frozen Pizzas, Frozen Pizza Essences, Small Symbol Bomb Essences, Big Symbol Bomb Essences, Very Big Symbol Bomb Essences, Quantum Symbol Bomb Essences, Lunchbox Essences, Adoption Papers Essences, Comfy Pillows, Comfy Pillow Essences, Shattered Mirrors, Shattered Mirror Essences, Credit Cards, Credit Card Essences, Gray Pepper, Gray Pepper Essences, Lime Peppers, Lime Pepper Essences, Pink Peppers, Pink Pepper Essences, Time Machines, Oil Cans, Oil Can Essences, Instant Ramen, and Chili Powder Essences didn't function properly
Fixed a bug where modded Frozen Pizza Essences, Brown Pepper Essences, Small Symbol Bomb Essences, Big Symbol Bomb Essences, Very Big Symbol Bomb Essences, Quantum Symbol Bomb Essences, Shattered Mirror Essences, Lunchbox Essences, Gray Pepper Essences, Lime Pepper Essences, Pink Pepper Essences, Adoption Papers Essences, Quigley the Wolf Essences, and Comfy Pillow Essences didn't function properly when destroyed
Fixed a bug where modded Oysters, Pufferfish, Sand Dollars, and Jellyfish didn't function properly when removed
Fixed a bug where modded Popsicles, Popsicle Essences, and Frozen Pizza Essences could be disabled
Fixed a bug where modded Dogs and Rabbits couldn't be pet
v1.0.40
The game has been patched to fix a few bugs.
Changes
Added an in-game timer to show when the Mobile version will be released (July 21st, 2023)
Added my friend who found a lot of bugs in the Mobile version to the Special Thanks section of the Credits
Made the Stat backup file be written to less frequently (hopefully resulting in less corrupted saves)
Fixed a bug where some string spacing logic that should only be applied if the language was set to Thai was being applied to every language
Fixed a bug where symbol/item descriptions could clip through their symbol/item selections under very specific circumstances
Fixed a bug where some icons were clipping out of their buttons if the UI Scaling setting for Buttons was set to 75%
Fixed a bug where long symbol/item names could be formatted incorrectly in symbol/item selections if the language was set to Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Japanese, or Korean
v1.0.39
The game has been patched to add language support for Thai.
Changes
Added language support for Thai
Added an "Are you sure?" prompt when pressing the Reset to Default button in the Options menu
Updated Credits menu to reflect LocalizeDirect's refusal to tell me their translators' names so I can properly credit them
Fixed a bug where the title text could go off-screen with specific Language/Font combinations
v1.0.38
The game has been patched to fix a few bugs.
Changes
Fixed a bug where there was a memory leak under some circumstances
Fixed a bug where the apartment floor modifier text had its icons offset incorrectly if the font was set to anything but the default setting
Fixed a bug where the dedication text had its icons scaled incorrectly if the font was set to anything but the default setting
Fixed a bug where the Spin button text was misaligned if the font was set to anything but the default setting
Fixed a few typos in the Turkish localization
v1.0.37
The game has been patched to fix a few bugs.
Changes
Made player tips appear after the first game played (instead of the first game won)
Made the Apartment Floor Modifier Text scale down based on screen space available
Made a few improvements to the Japanese translation with suggestions from the community
Localized the Legal button in the Options menu
Fixed a bug where the Spin button text could be misaligned at some UI Scaling setting combinations
Fixed a bug where the coin counting texts were off-center on the first spin if the Font was set to NotoSans or OpenDyslexic
Fixed a bug where a symbol's Permanent Bonus text could sometimes be seen while the symbol was offscreen
Fixed a bug where descriptions could sometimes start with the "%" symbol if the language was set to Japanese
Fixed a bug where Dwarven Anvil was displaying its name as Barrel of Dwarves if the language was set to French
Fixed a bug where the Piñata achievement specified rent payment #12 instead of rent payment #2 if the language was set to Brazilian-Portuguese, Danish, or Japanese
Fixed a bug where the Legal button was off-center
Fixed a bug where the game could crash under very specific circumstances involving Lemon Essence
v1.0.36
The game has been patched to fix a bug.
Changes
Fixed a bug where the Guillotine Essence Executions stat could be artificially increased by restarting the game during the execution animation
