Hello everyone! Finally, the next update is here! This update is mainly about new and reworked mechanics, enhancements on some spell trees and some QoL. There are many miscellaneous changes, so I will post only the most relevant ones. Here is the changelog:
Mechanics
New combat skills (as in Melee Attack, Dodge Defense, Archery, and Block Defense): Fire/Lightning/Feyzir/Nature Magic.
These skills enhance the effects of related abilities. They can be bought with XP and are also prerequisites for acquiring abilities. They should be able to be increased by training with NPCs and books in the future.
Attribute cost changes:
Attribute bonuses given by Arganon abilities are now ignored when calculating attribute costs.
Attribute costs now increase every 10 points, allowing the player to better focus on one branch.
Spell disruption no longer causes a spell failure chance; instead, it causes a Plasma Flow penalty and increases plasma cost.
It is now possible to cast plasmic spells with a single hand while wielding non-staff weapons, with plasma flow and conjuring time penalties.
Exhaustion: allows the player and companions to become exhausted, meaning they receive several penalties. Exhaustion is removed by resting. You have 35 minutes before the first penalties apply. There is an icon showing you the % of the progression before the effect is applied.
Dodge animations:
New animation: Dodge Front. This animation is used when the character is moving, and the dodge direction aligns with the movement direction, preventing the character from getting stuck during dodges.
Fixed bugs that caused the character to dodge hyper fast, sometimes not even playing the animation, or sometimes cutting the animation
Bags and magic bags: it is now possible to acquire bags to expand the bag capacity.
Expanded bag option: there an option to play with extra inventory size, for those who don't like it to be too restricting.
Weapon Sets: changed the way of equipping/unequipping weapons via keyboard. Now you have 2 weapon sets, which you can switch them with X (rebindable). There may be more weapon sets later, but I think they won't be needed since a macro system (at least for equipping weapons) in the action bar is planned.
Abilities
Changes in Arganon abilities that provide attribute bonuses
Orbs:
Aura Attachment I is not required anymore to attach orbs. Instead, it adds +1 attachment slot. You can now have up to 6 slots. The current/max attachments are now show in the character panel.
Pursuer configuration parameter is now split into two parameters: Pursuer and Self-Trigger
Pursuer: makes the orb continue attacking the target after it is cast but does not auto attack nearby targets anymore.
The orb now avoids hitting the ground, which makes a great difference!
Self-Trigger: makes the orb to auto-attack nearby targets
Fire Orbs
Electric Orb is now included into the Orb mechanics (you can attach and cast it, but it is still AoE)
Fezyir spell tree:
Feyzir's Firing Orb:
A lot of rebalancing
Propulsion parameter
Improved version (Feyzir's Firing Orb II)
New related ability: Feyzir's Firing Orb - Auto-Recharge (a game changer)
Feyzir Charge spells:
The charge does not disable actions anymore, but makes one hand busy, meaning that you can still use the other hand to equip weapons and cast spells, but with penalties
New spell: Feyzir Weapon
Fire spell tree
New spells: Heat, Flaming Weapon, Mass Fire Projectile I/II/III, Fire Bomb, Fire Orb, Grand Combust
Fire Ring spell reworked: you can take actions while it is active
The burning effect now has a limited maximum stack of 3 effects
Repulsion Field:
Added Friendly-Fire parameter, removed Repulsion Field Immunity spell
New spell: Attraction Field
New ability: Plasma Flow Control
Allows to control the magnitude of spell disruption trade-off between the body and the hands by controlling how much plasma is expelled by the hands
New Spell: Lightning Weapon
Arganon Regeneration is now based on a percentage of the HP.
Balancing
Increased hp of some cultists starting from Valmsteim and forward
Changed calculation of hp bonus from arganon new level, reducing the auto-increase by level. Also, the bonus is now modified by Constitution.
More Willpower bonus to Plasma Flow
QoL
Async saving option: allows saving without stuttering. Turned off by default, since there is a theoretical small risk of data corruption. Use at your own risk. I've never experienced any problem.
Game saves now the activation state of abilities being sustained
Double-pressing an ability in the action bar forces using the ability in the current target, if the ability is AoE or allows to cast on ground
UI
More attributes visible in the character panel
Display status (HP/Stamina/Plasma) values in the status bars (visibility is toggleable)
Character Improvement Panel: failed pre-requisites shown in red
Floating text names with colors according to the hostility/friendship
Display effect timers (configurable)
Plenty of new ability icons
Performance optimization in Valmsteim, when out of the city
Clarifications
The ability trees are still not yet completed, even the ones that received more attention in this update. The Lightning and Druid spell trees were also supposed to receive improvements in this update, but there wasn't enough time in the end.
Although the inventory aesthetics and some of its structure have changed, it still has a lot to be improved, altogether with the entire UI.
Roadmap: 1) give support to the feedback from this update, which includes new updates and patches; 2) redesign the UI, not only the aesthetics but the structure, making it more controller- and keyboard-friendly (but still probably not supporting controllers yet).
As always, I am very open to feedback!