hi GAMERS! today marks one year since the first line of code for Your Only Move Is HUSTLE was written, and I've felt the desire to update everyone with how things are going on this next patch (since this is a big one and it's been a little while) so allow me to show you what i and the community are working on.
the biggest change to gameplay is a total overhaul to how defense works. experienced players have generally agreed that blocking in 1.7.0 is almost never worth doing except for on reaction, and that movement is too noncommittal to the point of detriment. what we have implemented now is a much safer form of defense that trades the enormous gamble of *parry or die* in the live stable patch with a more nuanced spectrum of advantage and reads for both players. it also allows the player to maintain offensive pressure with blockstrings. additionally, movement actions have been made a little more risky, with the standard 8-frame turn being bumped up to 10 (with a few moves being adjusted to compensate).
there are also huge performance improvements - mainly, no more harsh stuttering whenever you select a move with the prediction ghost enabled. i hope this might help a lot of players enjoy the game who were not able to play before, but we have yet to see if that's the case at a large scale.
anyway, there are a load of other changes and additions (as well as a few removals) but i'll stop yapping and just show off some of the new stuff.
check out this ninja blockstring (old vid, chip damage has been tweaked):
a new throw and grounded movement option for robot (see if you can spot it):
a new, compact UI that only shows during gameplay (is unchanged from 1.7.0 for replays):
there's a bunch more cool stuff too, and you can try it all out right now by selecting the `_unstable` beta branch on steam like so:
I recommend also visiting the discord where you can find patch notes on the current unstable version in #unstable-updates.
IVY OUT ːorganiccucumberː
Edit: I almost forgot to mention...