Sims
11-15-2022, 02:14 PM
Welcome to another beautiful fall season! Zhia Lian's tricks and treats are behind us, and we're ready for the tofurkey. In addition to Thanksgiving, this update also contains a lot of bug fixes large and small - plus a special new dungeon for the most powerful players to test their might. So let's get to it!
Turkey Time!
Now is the time for delicious fall meals! Wild cranberries are in season, and turkeys can be found hiding everywhere! Vegetarians will want to speak with Ricatu in Povus.
And there are whispers... of something angry. Something powerful. Vindictive. Watching.
It's probably nothing though! Remember, turkey recipes can only be found during this event, so collect 'em all!
Introducing the Boss Gauntlet!
For high level players, the game's in an awkward spot of development: we're not ready to introduce higher-level content yet. And when we do raise the level cap, we'll take that opportunity to do a bunch of gear rebalancing at the same time, like we've done in the past -- in other words, nerfs. So what are high-level players supposed to do right now? What's the point of getting better gear?
The Boss Gauntlet is the answer. Once you're able to complete the group dungeon in Povus, you're ready to attempt the gauntlet. The Boss Gauntlet is underneath the Povus dungeon and consists of 20 named bosses of increasing difficulty, culminating in some INSANELY tough battles. If your group can defeat all 20 bosses in one session (specifically, within 3 hours), you'll complete the Boss Gauntlet and prove your group's unparalleled prowess!
This Boss Gauntlet won't last forever: it will be retired when the level cap increases, probably around February. (If it's popular, though, it'll no doubt return in some new form eventually...)
Rewards
The monsters in the Boss Gauntlet are all level 85, and drop high-quality level 85 gear. They also drop a lot of money! For those who love collecting stuff, each boss also has a chance to drop a unique novelty title. Collect all 20!
If you complete the Gauntlet, you'll also receive a one-time reward of 25 Live Event Credits, and your character's name will be included on a permanent in-game list of Boss Gauntlet '22 Winners.
PS - As with all new content, this will probably need some refinement. It's intended to be super hard, but not impossible! We'll make changes based on your feedback as usual.
New Version of Unity
We've upgraded the underlying graphical engine, Unity, to a new major version. Whenever this happens there's a chance for weird graphical problems or other incompatibilities to show up. If you see weird stuff, please report it!
We are optimistic that this update will fix the problem that some users on new-silicon Macs experience, the issue that requires typing in "MacHack" in the special settings to work around it. ("MacHack" also turns off most of the sky graphics, so that was always intended to be a temporary fix.) If you previously needed the MacHack hack, can you please remove "MacHack" from your special settings, restart the game, and see if it's fixed? Please let us know either way.
Experimental UI Changes
Fixed bugs with highlights being out of sync with their models, such as rotating around them.
Actually removed broken highlights from fairy wings. (They were still showing up sometimes.)
Added outline to selected-entity description.
Selecting an entity for the first time using tab instead of click will no longer cause their highlight to display in the face cam.
Favor floaties now round the number.
Using hotkeys to select & interact with something will now work 100% of the time.
Experimental UI now shows current Power, in a UI similar to Rage but different enough to easily be able to differentiate it.
Experimental UI now handles player title changes.
Implemented stat bars for party members.
New Settings: "Show vitals over players' heads?" & "Show combat numbers for other players?". These are each dropdowns with multiple options.
All entities should now be selectable; some entities were still missing colliders.
Speech bubbles and floaty combat numbers now both display even when their entity isn't in line of sight.
Experimental UI now respects the "PortraitFloaties" special setting.
New settings for outlines, located under GUI/Experimental Selection UI: "Outline Opacity", "Outline Width", and "Outline Quality".
New overhead label color for dead enemies. Only applies to the experimental UI. Located under GUI/Overhead Labels/Overhead Label Colors.
Add extra image (a little diamond inside the power diamond) to self nameplate to more easily differentiate it from others' nameplates.
Speech bubbles no longer overlap the speaker's name if they are selected.
Experimental UI now changes the cursor when you hover over something, which are higher res versions of the existing cursors.
Vital bars now only animate when hp/armor/power/rage changes, not when the creature's appearance changes.
If your current target changes its appearance (E.G. changes gear, polymorphs, etc.) it will now be re-selected after the appearance change is complete.
Other Changes
The ladder on Anagoge can now be climbed. (New ladder tech! Expect to see it more often in the future.)
The mod "Bun-Fu Strike deals Cold damage..." now correctly states that it replaces Slashing instead of Crushing.
The mod "Love Tap deals X Trauma damage after an 8-second delay" now correctly says Trauma instead of Ice.
Recall Stones now take a few seconds to swallow (rather than allowing instantaneous teleport).
Fixed an error that caused some Alchemy potions to not have a Metabolism Cost when they were supposed to. Affected potions are:
Poison Resistance Potion (10)
Thin Fae Energy Potion (20)
Thick Fae Energy Potion (30)
Gooey Fae Energy Potion (80)
Rez and Shine (10)
Move Those Legs! now works while mounted.
Deer will no longer neigh like a horse while in travel form.
Ducks, foxes, & ravens can now fit into all areas that humanoid forms can.
Fan of Blades 5 & 6 now list the proper consumables.
Fixed audio for Bear Traps, Pigeons, Tentakillers, and Blur Smoke.
Item tooltip names should no longer overlap their short description.
Completely redesigned Ability tooltips to be easier to read.
Combat Refresh stats on items are now easier to read, and visually similar to new Combat Refresh UI in Ability tooltips.
Overlayed a unique icon on abilities that cannot be used due to level disparity.
Fix for new Ability Tooltips: Labels no longer linebreak
The area you click to select a monster now updates when a monster dies even if the monster is currently selected.
Monster-click areas for humanoids now match their dead bodies better.
Better handling of appearances disappearing while they're being loaded. This should fix the current round of stuck-on-loading-screen issues.
Fixed broken deereye particle effect.
Gathering crystals now looks like you're actually gathering instead of sitting.
Improved animation for "Become Wolf" ability.
New animation for Necromancy Dust recipe.
New visual effect for Ice Magic Research recipes.
Speed up Sonic Burst animation so it stops interfering with other attacks.
New 3d model for health, armor, and power potions.
Turkey Time!
Now is the time for delicious fall meals! Wild cranberries are in season, and turkeys can be found hiding everywhere! Vegetarians will want to speak with Ricatu in Povus.
And there are whispers... of something angry. Something powerful. Vindictive. Watching.
It's probably nothing though! Remember, turkey recipes can only be found during this event, so collect 'em all!
Introducing the Boss Gauntlet!
For high level players, the game's in an awkward spot of development: we're not ready to introduce higher-level content yet. And when we do raise the level cap, we'll take that opportunity to do a bunch of gear rebalancing at the same time, like we've done in the past -- in other words, nerfs. So what are high-level players supposed to do right now? What's the point of getting better gear?
The Boss Gauntlet is the answer. Once you're able to complete the group dungeon in Povus, you're ready to attempt the gauntlet. The Boss Gauntlet is underneath the Povus dungeon and consists of 20 named bosses of increasing difficulty, culminating in some INSANELY tough battles. If your group can defeat all 20 bosses in one session (specifically, within 3 hours), you'll complete the Boss Gauntlet and prove your group's unparalleled prowess!
This Boss Gauntlet won't last forever: it will be retired when the level cap increases, probably around February. (If it's popular, though, it'll no doubt return in some new form eventually...)
Rewards
The monsters in the Boss Gauntlet are all level 85, and drop high-quality level 85 gear. They also drop a lot of money! For those who love collecting stuff, each boss also has a chance to drop a unique novelty title. Collect all 20!
If you complete the Gauntlet, you'll also receive a one-time reward of 25 Live Event Credits, and your character's name will be included on a permanent in-game list of Boss Gauntlet '22 Winners.
PS - As with all new content, this will probably need some refinement. It's intended to be super hard, but not impossible! We'll make changes based on your feedback as usual.
New Version of Unity
We've upgraded the underlying graphical engine, Unity, to a new major version. Whenever this happens there's a chance for weird graphical problems or other incompatibilities to show up. If you see weird stuff, please report it!
We are optimistic that this update will fix the problem that some users on new-silicon Macs experience, the issue that requires typing in "MacHack" in the special settings to work around it. ("MacHack" also turns off most of the sky graphics, so that was always intended to be a temporary fix.) If you previously needed the MacHack hack, can you please remove "MacHack" from your special settings, restart the game, and see if it's fixed? Please let us know either way.
Experimental UI Changes
Fixed bugs with highlights being out of sync with their models, such as rotating around them.
Actually removed broken highlights from fairy wings. (They were still showing up sometimes.)
Added outline to selected-entity description.
Selecting an entity for the first time using tab instead of click will no longer cause their highlight to display in the face cam.
Favor floaties now round the number.
Using hotkeys to select & interact with something will now work 100% of the time.
Experimental UI now shows current Power, in a UI similar to Rage but different enough to easily be able to differentiate it.
Experimental UI now handles player title changes.
Implemented stat bars for party members.
New Settings: "Show vitals over players' heads?" & "Show combat numbers for other players?". These are each dropdowns with multiple options.
All entities should now be selectable; some entities were still missing colliders.
Speech bubbles and floaty combat numbers now both display even when their entity isn't in line of sight.
Experimental UI now respects the "PortraitFloaties" special setting.
New settings for outlines, located under GUI/Experimental Selection UI: "Outline Opacity", "Outline Width", and "Outline Quality".
New overhead label color for dead enemies. Only applies to the experimental UI. Located under GUI/Overhead Labels/Overhead Label Colors.
Add extra image (a little diamond inside the power diamond) to self nameplate to more easily differentiate it from others' nameplates.
Speech bubbles no longer overlap the speaker's name if they are selected.
Experimental UI now changes the cursor when you hover over something, which are higher res versions of the existing cursors.
Vital bars now only animate when hp/armor/power/rage changes, not when the creature's appearance changes.
If your current target changes its appearance (E.G. changes gear, polymorphs, etc.) it will now be re-selected after the appearance change is complete.
Other Changes
The ladder on Anagoge can now be climbed. (New ladder tech! Expect to see it more often in the future.)
The mod "Bun-Fu Strike deals Cold damage..." now correctly states that it replaces Slashing instead of Crushing.
The mod "Love Tap deals X Trauma damage after an 8-second delay" now correctly says Trauma instead of Ice.
Recall Stones now take a few seconds to swallow (rather than allowing instantaneous teleport).
Fixed an error that caused some Alchemy potions to not have a Metabolism Cost when they were supposed to. Affected potions are:
Poison Resistance Potion (10)
Thin Fae Energy Potion (20)
Thick Fae Energy Potion (30)
Gooey Fae Energy Potion (80)
Rez and Shine (10)
Move Those Legs! now works while mounted.
Deer will no longer neigh like a horse while in travel form.
Ducks, foxes, & ravens can now fit into all areas that humanoid forms can.
Fan of Blades 5 & 6 now list the proper consumables.
Fixed audio for Bear Traps, Pigeons, Tentakillers, and Blur Smoke.
Item tooltip names should no longer overlap their short description.
Completely redesigned Ability tooltips to be easier to read.
Combat Refresh stats on items are now easier to read, and visually similar to new Combat Refresh UI in Ability tooltips.
Overlayed a unique icon on abilities that cannot be used due to level disparity.
Fix for new Ability Tooltips: Labels no longer linebreak
The area you click to select a monster now updates when a monster dies even if the monster is currently selected.
Monster-click areas for humanoids now match their dead bodies better.
Better handling of appearances disappearing while they're being loaded. This should fix the current round of stuck-on-loading-screen issues.
Fixed broken deereye particle effect.
Gathering crystals now looks like you're actually gathering instead of sitting.
Improved animation for "Become Wolf" ability.
New animation for Necromancy Dust recipe.
New visual effect for Ice Magic Research recipes.
Speed up Sonic Burst animation so it stops interfering with other attacks.
New 3d model for health, armor, and power potions.