We're getting one more patch out before Grand Stampede to fix some general issues and add an important new feature that will make it easier to run an online tournament: open invite URLs for Classic Lobbies.
New Classic Lobby Feature: Invite URLs
Players may now create open invite URLs to a Classic Lobby. This allows direct joining without having to search the lobby browser or exchange friend requests. Instructions:
Enter a Classic Lobby.
Press the button bound to "Menu 1" on your controller or keyboard. This copies the lobby's URL to your PC's clipboard. (If you did it correctly, you will hear a sound effect and a notification will appear onscreen).
Paste the link in the chat of your choice (with CTRL+V, etc.)
Pixel Lobby
Improved pixel art rendering system at higher screen resolutions. Everything should now look clearer than before.
Fixed an issue where chests purchased from Cap 'n Cash's shop could sometimes not be opened.
Fixed an issue where "ghost Paprikas" would manifest in the overworld when a player failed to connect to the server.
Battle Shrines: Fixed a bug where spectators could move around freely until the next match started.
Salt Mines: Fixed an instance of predators spawning inside a particular wall.
UI
Improved UI rendering system at higher screen resolutions. Everything should now look clearer than before.
Combat portraits now render correctly. Edges no longer look jagged.
Gameplay
General
Groundbounce is now properly considered airborne until after the initial bounce has completed. Previously, Groundbounce counted as OTG during the initial impact, causing highly inconsistent results during combos.
There is now a simple confirm prompt after selecting a character during online play, to help prevent accidentally picking the wrong character.
Fixed broken Velvet combo trials: Master 1 and 2.
ManeCast Stream #6
In the wake of our new tournament announcement we've decided to do another ManeCast stream... this Friday! For those of you new the community, ManeCast is a podcast-like discussion show hosted by the dev team about the current state of the TFH and what to expect from the future. While we talk, we'll be running around the Pixel Lobby spectating some sets.
We're gonna start with a recap on how development has been since the crunch period leading up to 1.0, then EVO Online, and until now. Next, we'd like to offer our thoughts on the current state of combat balance and bugfixing, since we haven't talked about it in a while. Grand Stampede is right around the corner, so there's plenty to cover there before ending on some dedicated time for questions from the chat.
In attendance will be Mane6 devs Nappy (Design), Aaron (Production), Cam (Community/QA), and Oreo (QA).
Come see ManeCast #6 live on Friday the 24th at 3pm PT on twitch.tv/manesix. The recording of the stream will be uploaded to our YouTube channel the day after.
We do apologize for the short notice, but we've got some important stuff to talk about so we hope you can make it. See you on stream!
Grand Stampede: A New Tournament Event for TFH
Following up from our previous news post, at last here is the announcement for our brand new tournament:
Grand Stampede is an international online tournament for Them's Fightin' Herds, hosted by Mane6. This event is a celebration of TFH, how far it's come, and all that we've built together with our players, both in the game itself and the surrounding community space.
Grand Stampede will take place across two days from August 8 - 9. There will be mo entry fee and no participant cap. The event will be streamed on Mane6's Twitch channel: twitch.tv/manesix.
To be eligible for registration, you must be located in one of the following regions: North America, Central America, South America, or Europe (including Russia). There will be one bracket for the entire event across all eligible regions. There will be one Grand Champion.
While the event is international, we unfortunately do not have the resources to make the event global while still maintaining a quality experience for viewers and participants. We selected eligible regions based on a number of factors: where our players are concentrated, the distance between them, the time zones they're in, and the logistical bandwidth of our crew. To our players located in Asia, we recommend you check out the quality regional tournaments organized by BananaSoup.
For prizes, everyone in top 8 will receive a physical medal engraved with their handle and place in the tournament (that means we'll need shipping info if you get that far). The top 3 will each receive an exclusive ingame trophy hat to wear in the Pixel Lobby, reflecting their place (bronze, silver, or gold). Our Grand Champion will receive a special prize: we'll add a custom palette to the game for one character credited to and designed by you (subject to technical and legal constraints, of course).
Signups are open now. Head over to smash.gg/grandstampede to register. Please read ALL of the rules! You must join the tournament Discord server in order to participate! And… good luck! We'll see you in a few weeks.
Hotpatch - Version 1.2.1
Fixed an issue where Velvet's Icicle Missiles would sometimes visually disappear, but maintain a hitbox and hurtbox.
Fixed an issue where Tianhuo's new whiff animation on Men Shao Ti had larger collision than was visually represented.
Patch Notes - Version 1.2.0
Gasp! It's a fresh new update comin' at'cha. First off, we've fixed up a few bugs on the combat side of things. This is the build that will be played in this year's Evo Online, but we will likely do some July hotfixes to fix technical issues in non-combat areas of the game.
In addition, Winners Stays mode has returned to Classic Lobbies. We also have an exciting new feature.. BATTLE SHRINES, which brings Winner Stays play to the Pixel Lobby as well! Details in the patch notes below.
Fullscreen Bugfixes
Fixed an issue with fullscreen where the game would not conform to the screen's resolution if Windows display scaling was set above 100%.
KNOWN ISSUE: There is another known bug with borderless fullscreen where in rare circumstances the game will softlock or crash if you change resolutions. We are working on a fix for this.
Main Menu
The game now asks you "are you sure" if you use the Exit Game option from the main menu, instead of just closing the game immediately.
"Match Ready" Screen Updates
The "match ready" screen (that displays before an online fight) now shows the same info whether through matchmaking or a Pixel Lobby quick match. Previously, the Pixel Lobby version of this screen showed less info.
The "match ready" screen now displays the amount of time your opponent has played.
On the "match ready" screen, it's now clearer that your opponent's "rank" refers to their casual XP rank.
Pixel Lobby
New Feature: Battle Shrines
Two Battle Shrines have been constructed in each Pixel Lobby biome for coordinated combat!
Battle Shrines use "Winner Stays" rules and fighters rotate after 1 match. We will look into expanding available rulesets in the future.
Shrines support a maximum of 7 players (2 fighters and 5 queued). A queued player can either get in line to fight or spectate only.
All queued players will spectate matches, but there can be only 4 players max in "spectate only" slots so that it is always possible for someone to join the fight queue if there is room.
Spectators will remain in the spectating slot after a shrine match concludes. They do not have to re-spectate.
General
The medal items awarded for achieving "time played" milestones have revised text to better clarify what they're for.
"Time played" milestones are now shown as text on the player interact menu instead of icons, for better clarity.
The Iron and Bronze tier "time played" medals are now awarded at 50 and 100 hours respectively (up from 40 and 80 hours). If you've already earned the medal at it's previous threshold, you keep it, even if you don't qualify for the new threshold.
The font in text chat now uses bilinear filtering, which should improve visual clarity.
Fixed the lack of a screen transition when going to training mode from the overworld.
Fixed text chat dev colors not applying to messages created from Quick Chat.
Fixed an issue in the Salt Mines for high-population runs where the boss bear would sometimes not take damage.
Fixed an issue in the Salt Mines for high-population runs where player scaling for the boss bear's health was higher than intended.
Reine City (Velvet’s Lobby)
The Tavern and Inn buildings are now open.
The abandoned merchant stall on the southwest of the district has been demolished. Some minor structural development has been added to the zone.
Reports of a sinkhole have been investigated. As a result, a crack in the Reine foundation has been closed up.
“The Glory that is Velvet” statue in the plaza has been relocated to a place of honor close to Reine District III’s entrance.
Classic Lobby
"Winner Stays" mode is now back in service with a small upgrade: it now displays the order of the combatants in the queue.
Story Mode
Shortened and revised dialogue in the post-fight victory cutscene for the Velvet boss battle for better pacing.
Shortened and revised dialogue for the "fail to take the turn" joke in Adobo's dialogue for better pacing.
Tutorial
Dummies are now set to auto-block after the first hit across all trials in the tutorial, which makes it clearer to players that they missed a combo and failed an objective.
Revised Pom's Float tutorial so the instructions match the objective.
Fixed a bug on the tutorial select screen where navigation sound effects would play on left/right inputs and not up/down like they should.
Fixed a bug where the game would softlock if players skipped the final tutorial section.
Fixed a bug on the final tutorial section where the game would hang while waiting for the current DMS outro to finish playing before exiting the tutorial.
Gameplay
General
Juggle Decay hitsparks now respect normal hitspark size scaling.
Fixed an issue where you were able to buffer a forward dash while also crouch blocking by holding down-back on the first available forward dash frame.
The netgraph display on the fight HUD now also displays the button to toggle it off.
Velvet
Velvet now has a new palette: "Majestic Milliner".
Fixed multiple instances of Velvet’s projectiles not properly applying hitstun to attacking opponents.
Fixed some lingering issues that caused Eruption's crumble animation to flicker slightly before disappearing.
Fixed a bug where Velvet could cancel her level 1 super into her level 2 very early with no animation while under the effects of another Velvet's wind.
Oleander
Fixed an issue where you could not grab, command grab, or hitgrab Oleander during Shadow Blast.
Fixed an issue where Counterhit disabled sooner than intended during super
Pom
Pom has two new palettes: "What Time Is It" and "Illudium Q-36".
Fixed an issue where Pom's dogs could become permanently locked if launched offscreen hard enough.
Fixed an issue where you could not grab, command grab, or hitgrab Pom during Bark!
Fixed an issue where Counterhit disabled sooner than intended during super
Tianhuo
Tianhuo now has a new palette: "RMC OCV".
Tianhuo now has a new animation for Men Shao Ti whiff.
Tian's Firecracker Flips no longer layer under Pom's dogs (while NOT in dragon install).
Patch Notes - Version 1.1.3
This update introduces some fairly major under-the-hood changes to Classic Lobbies which will improve stability. It was some of the oldest code in the game and we've been going back to clean it up.
Notice: For the time being, "Winner Stays" mode has been temporarily disabled while we continue to modernize Classic Lobbies.
Next: we're changing the way fullscreen works. Non-exclusive or "borderless" fullscreen is now the default fullscreen display option. The old fullscreen option has been hidden. If players need that exclusive fullscreen option back for whatever reason, you can set "-allow-exclusive-fullscreen" as a launch option, but we don't recommended it unless it's very specifically needed.
The short(ish) explanation for the fullscreen thing is: we've seen that exclusive fullscreen mode in TFH creates some significant issues. Since it grabs your entire screen, alt+tabbing has the potential to create stability problems like crashes, online disconnect issues and controllers not working anymore, among other things. In some games exclusive fullscreen can increase performance by a small amount, but for TFH, in the vast majority of cases (even on mid-low end PCs), there does not seem to be any benefit at all. So, we're pushing players towards "borderless".
Now then, onto the patch notes!
Improved Fullscreen
Renamed "borderless fullscreen" to just "fullscreen" since it's the default now.
Added "-allow-exclusive-fullscreen" launch flag which unhides the "exclusive" fullscreen option, if desired.
Fullscreen is now better able to find your monitor's best target resolution on 16:9 aspect ratios at 60 hz
While in fullscreen, the game now automatically hides your mouse cursor as long as the game is in focus and the mouse is not moving.
Classic Lobby
Classic Lobby connection code has been refactored to make use of newer tech we already use in the Pixel Lobby, which will improve stability.
Classic Lobbies now display a player's jitter as well as their ping. We plan to introduce this to the Pixel Lobby as well in a future update.
"All Play" mode (which allowed for multiple simultaneous matches to occur in the same lobby) has been removed from Classic Lobbies. It has been replaced with "Free Play" mode, which is basically "Whoever Readies First".
"Winner Stays" mode has been TEMPORARILY removed from Classic Lobbies while we continue to debug it. It will return in a future update.
Pixel Lobby
The max player cap on official Pixel Lobby servers has been raised to 26 (from 25). Everyone gets a partner. No more third wheels!
Players who are on the "match ready" ready screen in the Pixel Lobby now display a signifying gist (with a distinction between fighters and spectators), intended to make it easier for TOs to tell when a match is about to begin.
You can now queue to spectate players through the player list.
You can now back out of salt chest acquisition in the overworld, both while you're waiting for another player to challenge you and from the match ready screen. This is only on the overworld. We have no plans to introduce this feature in the Salt Mines.
Removed the vestigial "host" and "skill" columns on the Pixel Lobby server browser list.
Admins and mods of private Pixel Lobby servers can now join their server even if it's at max player capacity.
Mane6 staff members and private server admins/mods now have special colored text in chat for better identification.
The text chat now has a drop shadow effect for better readability.
Fixed some minor collision issues in the Salt Mines and in Velvet's lobby.
Some visual glitches with the new fight clouds should be fixed.
Fixed a bug that was causing a black flicker at the end of matches as players returned to the overworld.
Fixed some issues with the game's support of non-english characters.
Gameplay
Fixed a bug where the % symbol would not appear with individual volume settings in the main menu.
Fixed a few small typos in the tutorial.
Fixed a bug in the tutorial where sections would not be checked off if you skipped freeplay from the pause menu.
Fixed an unintended issue with Oleander's stage where multiple background characters would show up simultaneously. It's now either one at a time or none.
Patch Notes - Version 1.1.2
Couple small bugfixes going out, along with some revisions to the Juggle Decay section of the tutorial, and private servers now have the ability to disable Salt Mines play. Nothing too huge here, but here are the rest of the notes:
Pixel Lobby
You can now disable Salt Mines play on your private server with the following server.cfg value: allow_dungeon_play = false (You will of course need to update your server to take advantage of this feature).
Fight clouds now have updated art (which had previously only been updated for Story Mode).
Fixed a bug where some people would not be able to join a pixel lobby server after just leaving one.
Gameplay
Tianhuo: The last hit of Men Shao Ti (her level 1 super) has a new animation.
Fixed an issue where the battle HUD could disappear during the first round of an online match with an unstable connection.
Fixed bug in online play where both player's end-of-match menus would pop up a second time after a selection was made.
Revised tutorial dialogue for the Juggle Decay section. Also made it so the "Reach Max Juggle Decay" trial starts you off with more JD, making the objective easier to complete.
Fixed several occurrences of American English in Oleander and Fred's tutorial dialogue. They now speak proper English to the best of our knowledge.
Patch Notes - Version 1.1.1
Hey there everyone! Before we get into the patch notes, we'd like to take the time to discuss an important change made in this update: the removal of skill labels for official Pixel Lobby servers.
In patch 1.0.3, we added skill labels designating servers with a skill level: "Beginner" or "Advanced". It was just a name; it did not come with any kind of actual enforcement system.
We did this in an attempt to help players' chances of finding players at similar skill levels. After observing this in the wild, running a poll, and receiving a lot of great player feebdack, we've determined that this feature has unfortunately not achieved its intended goal. So in this patch, Pixel Lobbies have returned to their previous, unlabeled titles.
The results of the poll were pretty split. As of this writing, we've got (out of 518 votes) 39% with no strong feelings, 32% wanting to keep skill labels, and 29% wanting skill labels removed.
As you can see, there's a rather narrow majority of those who do want skill labels over those that don't, and that's only a third of the total with positive feelings. We're interpreting this data to mean that players want SOME kind way to differentiate skill levels, but THIS system isn't landing all the way.
Without automatic enforcement, skill labels at worst split the playerbase. At best, they can't live up to their expectations. There's no guarantee you'll fight mostly beginners in a beginner lobby.
From here, we're going to try a different approach that makes better use of our two casual ranking systems, which are:
The older "Total Time Played" system, available since Early Access launch, represented by the small numbered medals displayed in the upper-left of the player interaction menu in the Pixel Lobby.
The newer "Fight XP" system, introduced in the December 2018 patch, which shows a special banner around players' avatars on the match ready screen according to their "casual rank" (which never goes down) earned from playing online.
These systems can give players at least a little more info about their opponent's skill level based on how much time they've played, but right now they're too unclear. They need rebranding so they're easier to notice and their meaning is conveyed faster. That's what we're going to work on next.
Big thanks to everyone who voted in the poll and shared their thoughts directly with us. We're sorry this one had a bit of a false start and we're hoping this next attempt lands better. Let us know what you think about this decision by joining the conversation in our Discord server: discord.gg/tfh
Now, onto the patch notes for this update:
New Feature: Trading Cards
TFH now supports the Steam Trading Cards feature! For general info about this system, see this Steam community post.
Pixel Lobby
New Feature: Passcode Protection
Private Pixel Lobby server hosts may now set passcodes on their servers.
Please see our updated server hosting guide for instructions on how to use this feature.
NOTICE: Mane6 staff members and server moderators are able to bypass passcodes, even on private servers.
Server Browser
Skill labels on Pixel Lobby names have been removed.
Full servers are now slightly dimmed.
General
Fight challenges will now be automatically declined if the recipient is in a menu or the chatbox is open.
There is now a gist displayed over a character's head when they are in a menu, or have the chatbox open.
On the player list, you can now see icons next to players who are in overworld fights, or in a menu.
Fixed various issues with chat box use for players running resolutions under 720p.
Fixed the appearance of the "w" character in the chat box. Enjoy those dubs.
Classic Lobby
Fixed various stability issues, though there are likely more to be found. Please report any crashes or weirdness you encounter while using Classic Lobbies. The best place to report bugs is in our Discord server: discord.gg/tfh
You can now set Classic Lobby rooms to "invite only" on creation.
"Quarters" play mode has been renamed to "Winner Stays" for better clarity.
The function for kicking players from Classic Lobbies has been cleaned up. Instead of being offered a menu, now you hold confirm while hovering over that player.
For stability reasons, all Classic Lobby types are now limited to one fight at a time. This is a temporary change and we are looking into a long-term solution.
Fixed a bug that prevented the Classic Lobby background from displaying.
Fixed some broken text elements.
Known issue: the infight win counter is disabled when playing fights from a Classic Lobby.
Gameplay
Arizona's 6B now has a more complete animation during startup, intended to provide a better visual indicator, making it easier to react to. The actual frame data has not been changed.
Paprika's Cartwheel C now has a slightly revised animation during the middle of the attack, to avoid confusion that she's airborne.
Pom's Cross Canter now has a bark sound and a proper (non-cardboard) visual effect.
Tianhuo now has a proper animation during crouching pushblock.
Tianhuo's standing throw now has a slightly revised animation and an actual fire swipe effect.
Oleander: Fixed some minor effect and color zone glitches.
Patch Notes - Version 1.1.0
GGPO Netcode Improvements
You may have heard the buzz about the recent update to the GGPO netcode in Skullgirls. After much internal testing and a highly successful (albeit brief) beta period, we're including that same tech (with some modifications to suit the particulars of our game, of course) into this mainline update for TFH. The best netcode just got even better.
In summary, this netcode upgrade creates a smoother, more consistent experience by greatly lessening the chance of frame and input drops online. We've also made several improvements to online sound effects which should prevent missing sounds during network hiccups and make sound doubleups far less frequent.
Frame delay recommendations and ping indicators (those green/red bars) have been made more generous to better reflect the impact the improvements have made.
Shoutouts to Hidden Variable Studios and Lab Zero for spearheading this update for the Z-Engine!
Story Mode
Fixed an issue that was causing the advanced frame info display to show in fights if enabled in training mode options.
Fixed training mode settings taking effect on the Velvet boss fight.
Fixed training mode settings affecting the platforming trials.
Fixed Temple bridge encounter leaving players stuck inside the trigger zone if they choose to walk away.
Fixed a bug with the gift box in the first room of the Reine Museum where the "open" sprite would disappear if players left the room and came back.
Fixed a bug that caused the Snake Boss's tail whip attacks to not play sounds.
Fixed misspellings of "Y'all".
Pixel Lobby
Sound & Voice options have been separated into their own menu.
Added option to disable fight cloud screenshake.
Added option to block incoming fight requests.
There is now a small delay before you can receive an incoming fight request from the same player after you decline (to prevent spamming).
Readded a missing lobby accessory (whoops).
Gameplay
Many options on the main menu and in the Pixel Lobby have revised names and hintstripes for better clarity.
Added unique sounds for Velvet's Shatter A and Shatter C
Added dialogue to Oleander's pushblock.
Pom's command list now displays the proper set of directional inputs for Float (added up-forward and up-back).
Netcode Update Beta is Live!
Netcode Update (Beta)
You may have heard the buzz about the recent update to the GGPO netcode in Skullgirls. We've now reached the point where it's ready to be tested for TFH, and everyone's welcome to participate.
This update creates a smoother, more consistent experience by greatly lessening the chance of frame and input drops online. We've also made several improvements to online sound effects which should prevent missing sounds during network hiccups, and make sound doubleups far less frequent.
Note that frame delay recommendations and ping indicators (those green/red bars) have been made more generous, thanks to this update.
Shoutouts to Hidden Variable Studios and Lab Zero for spearheading these improvements!
How to Get the Beta
Though TFH uses the same engine as Skullgirls, it is a different game, so the process of integrating these improvements has not exactly been a copy/paste job. That's why we need your help to test it!
To access the netcode improvement beta: follow these instructions:
In your Steam Library, right-click Them's Fightin' Herds and choose Properties.
Go to the "Betas" tab at the top.
In the "opt into" dropdown menu, choose "ggpotest". (If you don't see it, restart Steam).
Wait for the game to update, then launch TFH.
Join a Pixel Lobby server labeled "GGPO Beta" and play matches!
Please note that you will not be able to play with people on the "live" version of the game when you're on the "ggpotest" beta.
The best place to share your thoughts about this update is in our Discord server: discord.gg/tfh. Use the #feedback channel to tell us about your experience!
1.1.0 Patch Notes (Preview)
The following is a list of changes to other areas of the game that are currently available in the "ggpotest" beta branch but are not yet on "live". When the netcode stuff is ready to go to "live", these changes will go with it!
Story Mode
Fixed an issue that was causing the advanced frame info display to show in fights if enabled in training mode options.
Fixed training mode settings taking effect on the Velvet boss fight.
Fixed training mode settings affecting the platforming trials.
Fixed Temple bridge encounter leaving players stuck inside the trigger zone if they choose to walk away.
Fixed a bug with the gift box in the first room of the Reine Museum where the "open" sprite would disappear if players left the room and came back.
Fixed a bug that caused the Snake Boss's tail whip attacks to not play sounds.
Fixed misspellings of "Y'all".
Pixel Lobby
Sound & Voice options have been separated into their own menu.
Added option to disable fight cloud screenshake.
Added option to block incoming fight requests.
There is now a small delay before you can receive an incoming fight request from the same player after you decline (to prevent spamming).
Readded a missing lobby accessory (whoops).
Gameplay
Many options on the main menu and in the Pixel Lobby have revised names and hintstripes for better clarity. (Known issue: volume settings on the Main Menu currently don't have a % symbol, but they do in the Pixel Lobby.)
Added unique sounds for Velvet's Shatter A and Shatter C
