Patch Notes - Second Demo Launch
Hey everybody; Talberon here, sharing the BIGGEST update I’ve ever made to any of my games at once! After nearly a WHOLE YEAR, I’ve got a massive update for Super Sol Standard. I’m releasing a new demo!
There’s so much to cover, so if you’re overwhelmed, just give it a shot and play it now! Otherwise, check out the new trailer I put together!
How YOU can help me out!
I really want this game to be a fun experience for as many tactics fans and others as possible. I would be eternally grateful if you could help me do this.
Wishlist the game on Steam. Wishlisting helps the game in the algorithms so that more people can learn about it. It’s really THE most impactful thing you could do to help spread the word. Do it even if you’ve already downloaded the demo.
Follow me on Twitter. I post about game features and development updates there! If you’re sharing any thoughts or clips of your gameplay, or if you have any questions, I want to hear from you!
Join the Talberon Games Discord. I am always paying attention to Discord, so it’s a great way to get in contact with me and other players.
Tell your friends and play with your friends! If you don’t have friends that you can sit on the couch with, play with folks using Steam Remote Play or Parsec!
And with that, I will drop a long, non-exhaustive list of changes in this patch (since v0.0.4, can you believe it?):
Super Sol Standard Demo v0.15.0 Patch Notes
New Features
- Combat Estimate Window added that calculates the damage range of units when they select actions that would start the Combat Phase.
- Units with signature skills that would usually be used instead of Basic Attack now appear at the top of the Action Menu instead. Basic Attack can still be accessed via the Unit Skills submenu.
- New Objectives + Conditions
- Defend objective added. Defend all control points before an enemy can seize it!
- New Maps
- Most maps from the previous demo have been removed. New maps have been added that better reflect the direction of the game. For VS play, maps have been split into Scenario and Arena maps. Scenario maps are more objective-oriented maps, while Arena maps are symmetrical, competitively-balanced maps for skill-oriented PVP matches.
- Most unit actions now have effects that play, and many include new animations.
- The game UI has been refreshed and improved across the board, with text formatting, in-line icons and more succinct, accurate information.
- Unit skills that have modifiers that scale based on attributes or calculations now appear in brackets after skill names and in skill descriptions.
- Combat screen reworked to focus details in the center of the screen
- Dice rolls have less ear-piercing SFX and animate as they roll.
- Blocked attacks now show a shield covering a cancelled-out attack icon.
- Defending units in combat now show the RET icon instead of swords for their primary damage.
- Unit Voice Volume option added that allows you to adjust the bark and dialogue volume separate from the rest of the SFX. Percentage is relative to the SFX volume option.
- How to Play menu renamed to Tutorials & Help
- New Tutorial implemented (”The Academy”)
- New quick multiplayer tutorial implemented (”Just the Basics”)
- Unit Codex updated
- Added short unit descriptions
- Adjusted display of skills
- Added control hints
- AI Personality menu describing AI behaviour added
- Updated the Manual with new descriptions and helpful animations and pictures
- New level select UI
- New turn clock counts down during gameplay instead of being paused unless in the Select Unit phase of a turn. If a unit is not selected when the timer runs out, a random unit is exhausted. If a unit is selected while the clock is counting down, that unit is exhausted.
- Updated Super Sol Standard logo on Title Screen.
- Added option to open save folder in Options menu
- Added links to Steam patch notes in Community menu
- Added loading screens. The game should no longer freeze while opening the level select menu or after selecting a map.
- Added crash bug detection and prompt at game launch with bug reporting info.
- Objective cutscenes can be replayed mid-match via the pause menu
- Pressing the Preview Unit button on an AI unit now shows details about that unit instead of a list of AI personality behaviours.
- Some AI units now have abilities they can use instead of just Basic Attack.
- When not hovering over a unit while in-game, the Preview Unit button can be pressed to view what spaces can be moved on and which cannot.
- Movable spaces are in blue
- Collision spaces are in red
- Destructible terrain, drawbridges and doors are in purple
- While a unit is selected, you can press the Preview Unit button to Survey the Map, which allows you to check enemy threat ranges and terrain features without unselecting the current unit.
- Moved Wait action out of the Action Menu, into a macro that can be activated with the Preview Item button. Most units will want to use Guard the vast majority of the time instead of Wait.
Balance Changes
- Unit Adjustments
- Champion
- AMR reduced to 7 from 8
- HP increased to 8 from 7
- RET reduced to 2 from 3
- Challenge skill replaced with Drag skill
- Marauder
- RET reduced to 2 from 3
- Brace reworked to act as a reversed Enrage that ends the unit’s turn but also makes them immovable.
- Paladin
- ATK reduced to 3 from 4
- Angelic Strike command skill removed
- Consecrate skill added. Consecrate allows a Paladin to place a +1 BLK buff tile on the battlefield to benefit anyone who stands in it.
- Lancer
- AMR increased to 6 from 5
- HP reduced to 9 from 10
- RET reduced to 2 from 3
- Pierce skill now bases damage off of RET and includes LCK, instead of dividing ATK and ignoring LCK.
- Coup de Grace renamed to Execute. ATK buff reduced to +1 from +2. Damage now scales off of RET instead of dividing ATK.
- Pugilist
- RET reduced to 2 from 3
- Cool Off skill added which allows spending a stack of Heat to reset the status duration.
- Fencer
- AMR increased to 5 from 4
- HP reduced to 9 from 10
- RET reduced to 2 from 3
- Perfect Focus can no longer be stacked with Exert for a triple action in a single turn.
- Cavalier
- Max CP reduced to 4 from 5
- RET reduced to 2 from 3
- Gallop command skill replaced with Hind Kick skill. Hind Kick costs 2CP and behaves similar to Shove, but deals 1 DMG and can be used just for the damage if the target is up against an obstacle.
- Rogue
- ATK reduced to 4 from 5
- Mug now deals full damage before checking if stealing is possible, instead of half damage.
- Pierce skill now scales based on RET instead of half ATK. LCK is now included in the attack.
- Rend Skill is removed.
- Disarm Trap skill added. This skill allows the Rogue to remove traps placed by Archers and Mages (and some traps part of the initial map) without activating them.
- Archer
- Hunter’s Mark now affects Rapid Fire damage.
- Nock now also increases ATK and RET by 1 instead of ATK by 2. Status duration increased to 2 turns.
- Poison Arrow skill is removed.
- Rapid Fire skill is added. Target up to [RET] enemies and deal 1 DMG per target. Targets can be selected multiple times.
- Trap entity generated by Lay Trap skill now disappears from the map if not triggered within 5 rounds of it spawning.
- Trap entities can now be placed on spaces with other non-trap entities so long as they are tiles that can be moved through, or contain a unit.
- Mage
- AMR reduced to 4 from 6
- HP increased to 10 from 8
- RET reduced to 1 from 2
- Jetstream, Inferno, and Frostbite entities can now be placed on tiles that contain other entities so long as they are not other player-generated entities, traps, or immovable.
- Jetstream booster now allows units to move at full boost range instead of a fixed distance of 3
- Inferno traps now apply a burning status effect that deals 3 damage for 2 rounds. Inferno traps no longer trigger multiple times and will disappear after activating once. Trap will disappear if not activated within 3 battle rounds.
- Frostbite traps will disappear if not activated within 3 battle rounds.
- Sorceress
- RET reduced to 2 from 3
- MV reduced to 4 from 5
- ATK reduced to 4 from 5
- Arcane Potential command skill removed
- Chronomancy: Time Out command skill added. This skill allows you to exhaust an enemy unit and skip their turn.
- Cryomancy: Blizzard now deals full ATK damage instead of half damage rounded down.
- Biomancy: Blight renamed to Necromancy: Blight and now applies a -1 RET aura to a target enemy instead of enabling a -1 RET aura to herself.
- Vampire
- ATK reduced to 4 from 5
- RET reduced to 2 from 3
- Donate skill now opens a menu after targeting an ally that shows how much health is being transferred instead of selecting the value before targeting an ally.
- Cleric
- LCK reduced to 3 from 4
- Bard
- RET reduced to 1 from 2
- Double Time moved from Command Skill to regular skill
- Verse: Accelerando skill removed
- Play: Symphony Command Skill added. This allows Bard to apply a Concerto-distance aura with Solo-level potency for 2 battle rounds. After expiring, bard play Concerto.
- Champion
- Block universal skill now applies a +1 BLK modifier to the user until the end of the current Battle Round in addition to the 3 AMR recovery. As a result, the Block skill is now available to the Marauder and Vampire units. Blocking earlier in the round provides the most defensive opportunity.
Quality of Life Changes
- Added additional info to skill descriptions, such as displaying a subwindow describing Free Actions.
- Turn priority is now displayed in the Battle Round window and updates as units are exhausted
- All skill descriptions updated with colour-coded, consistent language and icons.
- Reduced harshness of some SFX.
- Added controller disconnection detection and reassigning of controllers mid-game.
- Pause menu can be closed by pressing the Cancel button.
- Players no longer need to confirm the end of their turn after taking actions.
- Achievements required to unlock various units have been adjusted.
- Draft Improvements
- (SINGLE PLAYER ONLY) During drafting phase, can press the cancel button to undo a draft pick.
- Selecting a unit shows a confirmation prompt to mitigate accidentally drafting the wrong unit.
- Pressing the “Random Unit” button selects the unit instead of just highlighting it.
- When promoting a unit to a commander, the unit’s command skill will be previewed on screen during the confirmation prompt
- Pressing Preview Item on a Chest or Residence that obtains items from a randomized pool will show the possible items that could be obtained from them.
Bugfixes
- Clouds no longer render outside of the game area
- Too many to list. If you find a bug in the game please consider filing a report via the Report a Bug feature in the Tutorials & Help menu.
Misc Changes and Notes
- Credits have been updated to reflect the work done by my wonderful testers who submitted feedback during the prerelease testing period. Thank you all for your help!
- Many unit portraits and sprites have been tweaked or changed.
- New animations for various units as they perform signature skills.
- Changed RET icon to a fist icon instead of a sword+shield to make it more distinct from ATK and BLK.
- .NET and library updates
- Plug Twitter and Discord
- Save file changes
- Added wishlist link to main menu
- Many tiles and icons have been refreshed or changed.
- Updated MatchupPro and EquipmentPro fonts to modern Match and Equip fonts with more character support.
- Added extra unit barks to dialogue pool when selected.
- Removed the Objective Preview button mapping. This functionality has been consolidated with the Pause Menu functionality.
- Due to a significant change in the way save files are saved and loaded for security reasons, saves from the earlier version of the demo unfortunately cannot be loaded or converted. This should never happen again, and I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.
There are so many more changes after almost a year of development, so please check out the new demo!