Swords and Sandals Immortals
V 0.7.2 - Tougher Grand Champions, Lower Essence Cost on Elemental Spells
I'll be interested to hear your thoughts on this, if it makes them too hard, I will scale it back.
This week, work begins on the Observatories! Should be ready by the end of the month, if not earlier.
V 0.7.2.A (October 10 2022):
--- BALANCE CHANGES / STAT FIXES ---
• Slightly reduced the cost of resetting talents
• Reduced the essence cost of higher level skills
• Boosted the max health and stats of allChampions a little
• Boosted the max health and stats of all Grand Champions significantly
• Nerfed the Starbound Gladiator a little on EASY mode - but if you're finding them still TOO tough, just wait for Observatories to come as they will give you the opportunity to weaken our enemy.
--- BATTLE CHANGES / FIXES ---
• Potential fix for the bug where sometimes phases would be skipped in the Starbound Gladiator battle. Do let me know if you're still experiencing this!
--- SHOP FIXES CHANGES ---
• You now only see recently sold items in shops if you search by ALL (or related category) instead of in every subcategory. For example, you sell a helmet, it will only show up in the ALL tab or shopkeeper's HELMET tab.
--- MISC FIXES AND CHANGES ---
• You can no longer get the random rule combination of "No Melee Skills" and "No Special Skills" as it makes fights too slow to play out against non-ranged enemies
• Fixed a bug where you could use forbidden weapons in your alt hand in some arenas
V 0.7.1 - You now can keep exploring and fighting before the final battle.
This patch 0.7.1 is a rolling patch, meaning I will be updating it through the week ( it's the weekend now so I only got a small amount of time to work on it ) but the major update now is that you are not automatically forced to fight the Starbound Gladiator immediately after defeating Grand Champion XII.
You now have the option to keep exploring, levelling up, fighting and getting better gear until you are ready ( or 300 days pass ). When you are ready, go to a town and press the 'Enter Portal' button to go to the Imperial Villa and trigger the end fight sequence.
As an aside, there are some who have beaten the Starbound Gladiator, some who say he is too hard, some who love the difficulty etc. I am glad he is a challenge as many people said much of the game was too easy - but I also want people to not feel despair if they can't beat him.
Right now I don't think I will be nerfing the difficulty, but there is a plan to bring in a way to weaken him on his journey via the Observatories. Stay tuned for them, they are coming later this month hopefully.
Remember, this is Early Access and stuff can and will change - hopefully for the better! Know that I DO update the game as often as I can, and please keep the faith and thanks for your patience.
I've noticed some negative reviews this week based on things I can easily change and fix , I've tried to address and update the game based on all your feedback so try to go easy with the "Thumbs Down" as low scores on Steam really do impact visibility, sales and ultimately the longevity of the game! So if you have an issue with the game, hit me up on the forums first, see how we can work together to improve the game.
Cheers Oli
Massive Update 0.7.0 : The Starbound Gladiator Arrives! All Arenas now unlocked!
Well, this is it - it's taken me four months since Early Access first went up, but here we are at last! The Starbound Gladiator touches down in Brandor, and they are ready to destroy the world.
The big question is, will you be ready to face them?
Patch 0.7.0 is a big one in that it represents the completion of the main part of the game. I knew it was a risk when I launched the game in Early Access without all arenas and an incomplete story, but the feedback you have all given me along the way has honestly allowed me to improve the game so much more than if I had been developing the whole thing in a vacuum.
The final battle is, I believe, a big challenge. And so it should be. No doubt there will be those among you who will cut the Starbound Gladiator to shreds, but in general I really want to see just how tough this guy is. If I need to nerf him , I will. I will be listening to your feedback in the coming days to see if I've made the right decisions in setting up this battle.
Please bear in mind also that there are also Observatories and Dungeons to come which, although completely optional, will also provide your gladiator with advantages and special gear to make this battle easier.
Alright, with all that said, please enjoy finally playing through the complete arena section of game and of course the new ending cutscenes - I have worked really hard on them this last month or so and I truly hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed making them. I really tried to indulge the inner fantasy / sci-fi writer within ( one day I'd love to write a fantasy novel ! ), so let me know what you thought of the overall story. There's more to tell in the story which I will flesh out in the coming months through the observatories and additional cutscenes.
Next up this month, we will see Observatories added to the game and a special Halloween event.
Cheers,
Oliver Joyce
Whiskeybarrel Studios
V 0.7.0.A (October 7 2022):
--- NEW FEATURES ---
- Added the STARBOUND GLADIATOR final battle! Good luck gladiators!
- Added all endgame cutscenes to the game
- Added the final arenas into the game Xor Gogris and Eldor Hath
- All arena champions now in the game, including two new regional champions
- Added Grand Champion XII to battle - defeat them to trigger the Starbound Gladiator battle
- Added Goleraam Voice set for golems
- Seraphim Armour set is now in game
--- BALANCE CHANGES / STAT FIXES ---
- Reduced melee damage for guitars/sonic weapons
- Changed armour value for many unique items and helmets
- Removed shadows for Grand Champion Battles as they looked too harsh against the bright arena sand. In a future Godot update I will be able to make skeletal animation shadows transparent.
--- BATTLE CHANGES / FIXES ---
- Changed the position of battle speech bubbles to the character panel ( because some gladiators were getting too tall to see it!)
- Battle speech bubbles now show your taunt quote when using intimidate/boast/provoke/taunt abilities
--- MISC FIXES AND CHANGES ---
- Many typos fixed throughout the game's story and adventure dialogues
V0.6.3.B
Thanks so much for all your feedback and bug reports as always! Oli
V 0.6.3.B (September 29 2022):
--- BALANCE CHANGES / STAT FIXES ---
• All armour values have changed. Feedback on this appreciated!
• Fixed a bug where all armour had very low values (except boss helmets)
• Fixed a bug with unique helmets being way OP
• Fixed a bug where champions had stopped dual wielding weapons
• Increased the damage of Molten Death
--- MISC FIXES AND CHANGES ---
• Setting Show Cutscenes to false will now skip local champion intros
• Fixed bug where enchanted armour did not show when levelling up at the campfi
V 0.6.3A - Skippable Cutscenes, fixes for Armour Degrading and more.
So that one is maybe a week away, but this patch is pretty important in that it fixes a number of big bugs ( well, hopefully, please let me know if you still encounter them as I've done a few pretty sweeping code changes, it may create other issues)
There's also now the option to skip cutscenes, (this will skip all dialogue and most of the text cutscenes), be aware that you're going to completely miss the story of the game this way, no game ending scenes or anything, but if you are impatient or have seen them before, well that option is for you. Maybe good for speedrunners perhaps.
PLEASE let me know if you encounter any craziness with the game from this patch as I have done a lot of tweaking, armour and weapon values have changed a bit but I really hope the armour degradation issue is solved ( as well as a talent exploit bug ).
Until next week my friends!
Oliver Joyce
Whiskeybarrel Studios
--- NEW FEATURES ---
• Added Excelsior Armour Set to the game
• You can now rename your character at any time from the Vital Stats section of your character sheet.
• Non major cutscenes can be now skipped by setting them to 'OFF' in the settings menu. (You will miss some story elements by doing this!)
--- BALANCE CHANGES / STAT FIXES ---
• Refactoring of weapon damage ( relative increased damage overall, but reduced the damage value output of all rare + level weapons )
• Refactoring of armour values. All armour values will appear somewhat different across the board.
--- BATTLE CHANGES / FIXES ---
• Fixed a bug where special rules applied to Grand Champion Battles ( should always be standard rules )
• Fixed a bug where tag team gladiators would appear during Grand Champion battles
• Fixed a bug where throwing your weapon then drinking a cooldown potion would not return your weapon to you.
• Fixed a bug where Excelsior and Blood Magic talents healed your enemy instead of you
• Fixed a bug where Captivation returned essence to your enemy instead of you
--- MISC FIXES AND CHANGES ---
• POTENTIAL FIX for armour degradation (armour would lose points after a few days) - please let me know if you are still experiencing this
• POTENTIAL FIX for talent points exploit on level up ( levelling up talent points while wearing items also containing that talent), again let me know if you are still experiencing this
• Fixed a bug where the game would crash on load if it could not retrieve the daily rules of the arena you were in.
• Fixed a bug where sometimes you could not equip a weapon in your alt hand even with Dual Wielding skill learned
• Fixed some story typos
• Fixed a bug where sometimes in during Survival arenas with Random Rules mode you saw the "Challenge Arena Champion" panel.
• Fixed a bug where selecting certain huge champions to fight as simulcrums would increase the size of other simulcrum champions
V 0.6.2 : The road to the Starbound is almost paved!
Patch 0.6.2 has arrived, bringing it with it the new locations of fetid Dankheart and mysterious Ancient Tolotor ... as well as a new Grand Champion whose size has to be seen to be believed.
Only three more regional champions and one more Grand Champion to come - I am estimating to have the complete path to the Starbound Gladiator ready by the end of this month, at long last!
I hope you enjoy these new challenges as I continue to build the endgame content, thank you for your patience!
Cheers Oliver Joyce
Whiskeybarrel Studios
V 0.6.2.A (September 21 2022)
Includes changes from the 0.6.1.H patch.
--- NEW FEATURES ---
- Added two new Regional Champions
- Two new Arenas unlocked - Dankheart, Ancient Tolotor
- Added new Grand Champion XI
--- BALANCE CHANGES / STAT FIXES ---
- Priest's Cure Wounds skill now heals 50% of health
--- MISC FIXES AND CHANGES ---
- Fixed a bug where the game would crash when loading gladiators in certain towns.
- Fixed a bug where levelling up after the third battle in a survival round allowed you to battle on indefinitely.
- Added new Grim Confessor loading background.
Hotfix 0.6.1.H - Fixing savegame crashes
This week - two new Arena Champions (possibly more) as we lead up to the final showdown against the Starbound Gladiator real soon!
Cheers, Oliver Joyce
Whiskeybarrel Studios
V0.6.1.F - Win Loss Record in Head to Head Crest, plus Skyman Sword nerfed
V 0.6.1.F (September 13, 2022):
--- NEW FEATURES ---
• Added win-loss fight record and total melee damage stats to the pre-fight head to head crest.
--- BALANCE CHANGES / STAT FIXES ---
• Nerfed the damage output of the Skyman Sword
--- BATTLE CHANGES / FIXES ---
• If you are using an Essence Orb when you tag out, it will now be destroyed
--- MISC FIXES AND CHANGES ---
• Fixed a bug where the Endgame text was incorrect after a player reloaded the game once viewing once
Patch 0.6.1.E - Fixing up spike bugs in the arenas, plus some other misc stuff
This week I am working on the endgame animations for when you confront the Starbound Gladiator as we prepare for the final battles!
V 0.6.1.E ( September 12, 2022 ):
--- NEW FEATURES ---
• You can now edit your taunt and victory quotes at any time from the character sheet panel
--- BALANCE CHANGES / STAT FIXES ---
• Reduced the % of essence drained per point in the Captivation talent from 10 to 8
--- BATTLE CHANGES / FIXES ---
• Fixed a bug where arena rules like time limits applied to Battle Dummy / Simulcrum battles
• Reworked spikes again to fix some bugs in the last iteration of the game
• Your lunge attack now takes your agility into account so you can jump further when attacking.
• Another fix for survival battles where enemy gladiators were dying during repeated survival rounds.
• Forced Doomtrek and Willard's Sound to always follow Standard arena rules ( no tag team fights etc)
• Fixed a bug where the Captivation talent did not drain your enemy's essence by the correct amount.
Hotfix V 0.6.1.D - Fixing game crashes in Tag Team arenas (fight selector etc)
You will also notice some of the game backgrounds starting to change over the next few patches ( Doomtrek and endgame screen 1 so far ) - this is an ongoing process that I'll be doing to replace most of the homeland backgrounds and so on, to make the game look a bit more visually interesting!
Next week I am focusing on the "win game" end game animation cutscenes and hopefully should have another Regional Champion or two for you to fight.
Cheers Oliver Joyce
Whiskeybarrel Studios
V 0.6.1.D ( September 9, 2022 ):
--- NEW FEATURES ---
• Added Demonplate Armour Set
--- BATTLE CHANGES / FIXES ---
• Adjusted Spikes so they retract once they have done damage - they are also a little more lenient as to when they trigger
• Fixed a bug where enemy gladiators defeated in Survival mode stayed dead in future rematches
--- MISC FIXES AND CHANGES ---
• Fixed a bug where the game would crash when choosing the Fight Selector in some tag team arenas
• Fixed a bug where the game would crash when using the Training Dummy or Simulcrum battles in some tag team arenas
• Fixed a bug where it sometimes rained in indoor/urban arenas
• Changed Endgame Animation art and Doomtrek Intro art (as part of a larger overhaul coming soon)