Hello everyone!
The beta branch has been getting tons of updates recently and the main branch was falling a long way behind. I feel the beta is in a decent spot currently, so before I dive into the middle of anything new, I figured I'd go ahead and take the beta changes live.
If you haven't been following the beta, the changes are pretty huge.
As always, I'd love to hear your feedback, either over on the Steam forums, on Reddit (where I'm u/fyian), or directly at my email address at [email protected]. The beta branch is for testing incomplete or unpolished features, but the game is still in Early Access, so anything and everything on the main branch is still subject to change based on your feedback.
Note: If you had a custom controller position set up, you will need to recalibrate it after this update.
New Damage System
The damage system has been completely revamped. Previously, while the force you hit with did matter, the chance of getting a knockdown was ultimately random. In Update #17, if you hit hard enough to knock your opponents lights out, then you are guaranteed to get a knockdown. You'll generally need to swing for weak spots (temples, chin, solar plexus, etc) to secure a knockdown.
The old punch force system now adjusts itself automatically without the need for the player to manually set it. If you still want to manually adjust it, you can do so in the settings menu. The game will be balanced around having the automatic adjustment turned on, however, so for best results please leave it on.
New Enemy AI
The enemy AI has been overhauled. Opponents now make decisions about attacking or retreating differently than they used to, taking into account how tired they are and if you or they are dizzy. Opponents should no longer just plant themselves in uppercut range and stay there.
New UI
The opponent poster board and the scattered settings buttons have been organized into a more traditional menu system.
There is also now a round counter UI shown on your desktop monitor. You can also press the space bar on your desktop keyboard to toggle the third-person camera on and off (note that there is a performance hit when the third-person camera is on).
Better Hit Feedback
Opponents now react to hits more strongly than before. Impact sounds have been differentiated more and are now louder. When you land a hit on the opponent, a puff of sweat will fly off of their face. Hitting a weak point causes your opponent to grunt.
New Models (again!)
The new models from Update #16 are causing all sorts of bugs and performance problems so I'm currently working on commissioning custom models to replace them. You'll see the initial results of that effort with the Trainer and Ugly Joe models, although their models will probably change again in the near future. This has been the primary delay in adding new opponents to the roster, and they should start appearing once the new models are added.
New Turn Setting
You can now choose not to turn sideways when in a match. This is beneficial for square shaped play areas or if you need to keep facing the way SteamVR set as your forward direction. If you have a rectangular play area, you'll still want to turn to maximize your space. The Thrill of the Fight is intended to have at least 2m of space front-to-back to provide enough room to move around and for the AI to function properly.
Venue Updates
The sound effects in the gym and arena have been simplified and hopefully made more inline with what you're seeing. A new crowd has been added to the gym night fight (but expect those models to be replaced soon).
You can get more specific details by checking out the change logs that have been posted for the beta branch over the last few months. And if you were already on the beta branch, here has what's changed in the latest update:
- Arcade operators can now add "--args -arcade" to the Steam launch options to hide the Settings menu and unlock all opponents.
- The player's gloves now scale with the player when your height is adjusted.
- The referee will still play his back-off line if you try to clinch an opponent that's already against the ropes (but the opponent still won't back up if they have no room to).
- Fixed an issue causing controller calibration to not work if you started the game with the controller outline setting turned off.
- Made bruising more noticeable again.
- Added Oct 16: Added "Extra Battle" menu with the Halloween fights.
- Added Oct 16: Boosted opponent reactions a bit more.