aeiou here, let me be the first to welcome you to Cardaire 2.0! Be sure to talk to the collector, as he may have some stuff for you if you've already got an active save file.
There's SO MUCH to go over with this update, but here's the highlights:
Stick around after the patch notes for a little thank you and thoughts on where we go from here.
Patch Notes
AI Updates:
There is quite a lot to explain in terms of how the enemy AI thinks, so I will get into as much detail as I can here - but there are a BUNCH of systems that were updated to generally function better and make the enemy AI a more worthy opponent.
I want to note the enemy AI is still able to make "mistakes". I find it good for new players to be given edges to learn from these mistakes, and it also is valuable for experienced players as they get to "outsmart" the enemy duelist. This also scales with duelists as the game progresses, with later game duelists and bosses playing better as you go. (The first area AI is not far from it's old state for example, and the final boss plays ALMOST as tight as possible.)
A few of the AI changes include:
- Weighting on where the enemy will play soul cards (For example prioritizing the guard slot to protect themselves, or a terrain slot that would benefit them)
- Prioritizing attacking enemy soul cards when they are at risk of lethal damage
Content Updates!
- Added some post game focused areas. (You'll need to beat the main game before accessing most of it. Take the southwest path in Slowflow Road to get there.)
- Added systems to unlock custom card backs for your deck. Go explore and find one you like! (Equip them through your item inventory)
-- Some are found by beating bosses, load junction hub if you already did so and are missing one and it should be placed in your inventory.
- Certain Duelists will now use custom card backs (stylish!)
- Added 3 new promo cards to find. (promo cards don't count for collection level, but are still pretty neat)
- Added a new Fishing Minigame with a few different rewards
- Added the Lucky Draw machine
- Added a ̶s̶e̶c̶r̶e̶t̶ ̶b̶o̶s̶s̶
Fixes:
- The board will now correctly display when a card's Attack is less than 0
- Fixed an issue that was causing lethal damage to not end the game until the turn was passed
- Fixed a bug with Sally's second duel that would cause the game to softlock if a soul got 0 health from being played on a slot that reduced health
- Fixed a bug with Sally's second duel that would cause soul cards not to take damage
- Updated the artist credit on Graveborne Reaper (Thanks Pan Gaming!)
- Fixed the clipping on some card corners that was causing them to appear square instead of rounded
- Fixed the slot effect for the Quiet Duelist in Frontier Wilds North
- Updated the round 2 and 3 Mini Tourny exit portal colors to better match the floor
- Added in duel comments to some duelists who were missing them
- Added a card to the Final Frontier npc decks so they have a proper 30 cards instead of 29
- Updated Beast Herald's description to note that the card is moved to hand if your board is full
- Corrected a typo in Big Duelist's dialog
- Fixed the Tourny Point Machine only subtracting 1 point when you purchased a 2 point item (whoops)
Other Changes:
- Implemented a pre-loader for images. This should help things run generally faster (Thanks Synrec!)
- Gave Clerk of Soulbinder a unique animation when played
- Mini Tourny opponents now have unique decks that get a bit better as you progress in the tourny
- Made some minor changes to Raine's deck to make it a bit better
- Updated the roll for opening a God Card in a pack
-- Before: 1/150 without lucky dice, 1/100 with
-- Now: 1/100 without lucky dice, 1/50 with
And a Special Thanks to Viewers Like You...
With this update it's my plan to finally put Cardaire down for a while. (With the exception of fixing any bugs it might have brought about)
It's been a dream come true seeing people play and experience Cardaire for the first time. My deepest, biggest, and most sincere thank you to all the players that have shared kind words in a playthough or review. It's meant the world to me.
Making Cardaire has been actively on my brain for something like 4 years now. And even now there are endless things I would like to add to it or improve about it, rough edges that make it less appealing to some. But I believe the bumps in a game are what give it character, and don't all need to be sanded down.
And truth be told, the number one thing Cardaire would need for me to continue expanding on it past this update would be a change in game engine and re-making from scratch. (RPGMaker is an amazing engine, but my limited coding skills are only so good at fitting square pegs into round holes.)
I don't know exactly what the future holds for me, and that's kind of exciting. I may or may not come back to Cardaire some day, but that's a decision for future aeiou to make. For the time being I am going to let my creativity wander until I come upon the next project I want to put a larger amount of my time into. I've already got a few ideas that are looking like good seeds to grow a new project from.
So this crazy game called Cardaire is yours now. I hope you find something in it that inspires you in the next thing that you make.
See you next time Cardaire Duelists