Here is the full change list:
• World Design Update: Lairford South
o 6 more world squares have been added to the play area, completing the Tenements and Harbor districts.
o Current game mode is set in a 500x200 playspace with explorable rooftops, landmarks and essential shops.
o Numerous decoration bits and pieces have been deployed in available world squares to flesh out the town.
o Most shaders and environment textures have been rebuilt or overhauled to add more detail to the world.
o We have also built a relit version of the city that is more demanding in hardware performance terms. We will also make that version available on a beta branch while we work on optimization features.
o More background music and ambient audio has been deployed in the city.
• Player Character Updates
o The Ghoul has been remodeled and retextured.
o The 4 player characters (the Ghoul, The Vampiress, the Promethean and the Witch) had various animation updates and tweaks. They also include transitions for certain states.
o More character abilities and mechanics have been implemented.
o All player characters now have a sprint attack.
o The Ghoul can now lay and detonate traps. Laying a trap can also be used as combo with melee attacks. He has access to a special, ricocheting shot and a super shot that penetrates. He also has more knife attacks with different properties to build combos with.
o The Vampiress can now steal different buffs based on enemy strengths when she performs Essence Drain. Her Impaler is now a special attack. She can activate a short duration, powerful life drain buff as her new super.
o The Promethean now has a very strong, special punch. He had most of his attacks tweaked to have wider attack arcs. He can buff his defenses with his power button.
o The Witch can now receive randomized beneficial effects when she reveals a card with her power button and casts a set of randomized harmful effects on enemies around her when she reveals her hand in her super attack. She also had her attack animations tweaked to transition better.
o The 4 player characters received a texture and shader update. These changes will become more apparent in the relit version of the city.
o More player attacks and abilities now have particle and sound effects.
• Starting Area Update
o The starting area has been changed. It is now more compact and contains several new interaction platforms.
o Player character customization is now accessible via the interaction button (F on keyboard, X on gamepad) at the character select screen. There are 3 styles and 4 color sets available per player character now.
o Players can view, unlock and equip different weapons at the Arsenal.
o Players can view collectible items and game information at the Collection platform.
o The new game platform by the collapsed tower can be used to start a new, single player game.
o The Game Narrator now provides basic guidance in the Start Space to start teaching the player in a free form tutorial.
o There is a small island built to give the player a space to practice jumping and wall jumping.
o There is a small island built to give the player a space to practice combat basics with dummies. It also has a health / stamina / magic / comeback refill spot so the player can replenish character combat resources while practicing.
o The newly built starting space islands will be properly polished later.
• Game Content Update
o Primary and Secondary objectives have been overhauled. They now have more content and allow for a completion of a session.
o The primary quest line is separated into 5 phases with 3 possible tasks per phase.
o Secondary goals are selected from a larger pool and distributed to all players.
o There are also free form goals on the map such as treasures and faction VIPs.
o Up to five tiers of essential passive & consumable items have been added to reward lists and treasure chests. More complex items will be distributed to the same outlets in waves.
o Each player character has 10 collectible weapons in-game now.
o 50 unlockable lore bits are in-game. Most have been redeployed to better reward exploration in the newer city districts.
o NPC encounters have been redistributed to populate the updated city map and to provide a smoother difficulty curve.
• Systems Updates
o The AI framework has been updated. Both pathfinding and combat mechanics have been improved on.
o Fixes to combat systems have been made. Core mechanics have been overhauled such as combat states, blocking, parrying, reversals, frame advantages and disadvantages.
o Weapons clashes and parries can now set involved characters to a “recoil” reaction state.
o Guard crushes have been simplified in implementation. This change will allow more polished animations.
o Attack types, dodge types and guarding are now better arranged in a RPS flow. Horizontal attacks defeat sideways dodges and deflect thrusting attacks. Overhead attacks deal double guard damage and break through horizontal attacks. Thrusts punch through overhead strikes and catch enemies dodging backwards.
o Glancing hits are enabled on NPC attacks.
o The animation system driving our characters and combat system has been overhauled to better integrate with engine features and to enable more detailed transitions.
o The GUI has received a visual update. An ongoing under the hood revamp will make future updates easier and faster. The city map can now be accessed by pressing the inventory menu button (Tab on keyboard, Back on gamepad).
o Improvements have been made to performance. Batching now works and culling has been optimized.
o Various small fixes to characters, abilities, effects and content.