We've been making small regular patches since the last major update! Here's what we've been up to.
Note that fixes are always delayed when coming to Mac versions.
ENGINE FIXES?!
Aaron Melcher, our assistant programmer who occasionally helps with low-level problems and handles our Mac porting, got source code access to GameMaker Studio (our engine) and fixed several bugs in it! He found areas in common functions that could very, very rarely cause memory corruption, which would then lead to unpredictable errors and strange game behaviour. We've noticed that players tend to play Beastieball a LOT, in VERY LONG sessions, to the extent that it's statistically anomalous among all games on Steam. These factors (unusually long game sessions x rare memory corruption issues) would eventually lead to unusual errors.
We also fixed several memory leaks in our own game code.
We hope this patch will substantially increase the game's stability over long sessions!
MATCH REPLAYS
Several fixes and changes have been applied to match replays.
You can now save replays of games played online
Replays from older balance patches now are labelled as such and have a warning about possible wrong behaviour
Replays now correctly work with the "Level Cap" setting. NOTE: If you change the "Level Cap" setting during a match, replays of that match will be disabled.
Replays are disabled when random damage is enabledPvP-RELATED CHANGES
Fixed an issue with team shares being blocked due to bad data on the server
The "Show/Edit Details" screen now shows Beastie stats as if they were level 50, so you can make more useful comparisons
Sligh cleanup of the details display and layering with Beastie art
Fixed softlock when both players in a lobby forfeit at the same time
Fixed issues with the "Ban Duplicates" setting checking your current party rather than your selected lobby team (this caused issues and, in some cases, crashes)NEW DIALOGUE
We added dialogue filling in a few specific scenarios where players reported expecting new text. Some of this is genuinely new, and some of it was written into the game but wasn't triggering correctly due to bugs. You may spy new text here:
Talking to Reese in Mythwood if you skipped getting sponsored
Talking to Marlin just before the story's final match
Losing a match to one of Elena's fans
Talking to Kaz after a certain hangout event
Talking to Riley after accomplishing some post-game story bits
Talking to Raymond when you have a #99 Beastie but they're away training with Gene
Elena reaction to your performance during a certain hangoutThere are many more situations like this I still want to address, but I'm always balancing my time adding new things with handling new bug reports.
GAME MECHANICS
Added enforcement and warnings around recruiting your 1000th Beastie, preventing you from having more than that.
The "Armored" trait was changed to trigger when stamina is "full," rather than 100 or more, creating fewer interactions with high-stamina bosses in Randomizer mode or Mountain Expeditions
Seakit and Petula now metamorph by level when in Randomizer mode if their usual method is not available due to randomization
Corrected the description for the Crafty trait
Beasties at level 100 will no longer feel FIRED UPOTHER FIXES
Added safety checking for player inputs when loading a save file, preventing corruptions or issues that removed key inputs
Adjusted issues and missing assets in several hairstyles that were added in the December Update.
Fixed a crash that happens when backing out of the final reward in Grand Mountain Expeditions
Fixed an issue with the opponent ignoring WIPED if it was applied using unusual methods during your turn during a Grand Mountain Expedition
Fixed the message for recruiting every Beastie after a match
Fixed an issue with double-triggering certain post-game challenge modes if you were mashing the interact button
Removed the "Send Feedback" prompt on Steam Deck, so that the game may be Deck Verified
Updated one of the "sports problems" in a hangout with Kaz
Added many more safety checks to prevent user input during AI turn selection, preventing many possible bugs with AI and Auto-Mode in particular
Improved spacing on tooltips in the Settings menus
Improved spacing on large question/answer dialogue boxes
Improved spacing for large Beasties when they metamorph
Crown Series matches no longer count toward your Ranked career totals (causing a discrepancy between the title screen and the in-game coach menu display)
Fixed issues with serve damage preview being incorrect sometimes when the level cap setting is enabled
Fixed an issue with map icons selection audio/slowdown when in Randomizer modes (or potentially other situations)
Fixed volume on the GAME OVER musical stinger
Fixed issues with Randomizer modes breaking designs for "sports problems"
Added stronger enforcement ensuring that relationships between Beasties that are both on your current squad never break
Fixed a rare crash with building walls, potentially from certain combos and/or being forced to tag out by an opponent
Safety checking ensuring the player's rank is set correctly when loading a file that has skipped major sections of the game
Fixed an issue with Jack appearing floating in the air before a certain scene that can happen in the Solanum Weald
Fixed an issue with scheduled hangouts appearing on the map when that character isn't available for plot reasons
Fixed an issue in the description of combo attacks that force the target to tag out
The level cap feature is now disregarded during Grand Mountain Expeditions
Adjusted the layout of a couple areas
Changed the color used to represent Heliath for stamina bars and other UI elements
Away Teams no longer appear in some dungeons that don't appear on the map
Fixed an issue with Beastie statistics showing the wrong text for plays learned via favor
Fixed an issue with Reese giving the player a tutorial during bossfights if certain sequences were skipped
Beasties with the Plucky trait no longer get yearnings for feelings if they can't make themselves feel it
The pool of possible Beastie nicknames has an entry that was just "["
Corrected many typosI still get dozens or hundreds of new feedback reports every day! I'm doing my best to keep up with it all while also trying to work on cool new things. :) Thank you to everyone for your continued support and patience with our tiny team doing big things.
