[img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/31161901/37fbe0d700244c716ce2f51b20484df03631af23.jpg[/img] We have finally finished with [url=https://steamcommunity.com/games/691690/announcements/detail/4368012926366879079?snr=2___]the new battle system testing[/url] — thanks to your invaluable help as well, and now are ready to show the first improved version of Ash of Gods: Redemption! Pay attention that it’s not Redemption 2.0 yet — we keep working on voiceover, translations and other improvements, and will also attentively study your feedback to make corrections. We hope that this update will give you a lot of positive experience, so please support us with reviews on Steam. It’s very important for us — especially if you had left a negative review about the original battle system. So what’s in the box? [h2]VERSION CHOICE[/h2] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/31161901/b9350b03f343fe4f1f2563cac44eaa0271fc099d.gif[/img] First of all, we considered the requests of those who would like to be able to play the classical version of Redemption. So the first tough choice awaits you right in the beginning of the game. [h2]NEW TURN-ORDER SYSTEM[/h2] [img]https://i.imgur.com/rFjwJYS.gif[/img] One of the biggest changes is the new order of turns which was requested by many players. Now smaller squads will not get the advantage over bigger ones: all the characters must make a move to start a new round. There's a tiny advantage for a small teams left, though, as they are always the first to start a new round. The exclusion is Blance — being a strong character who is able to destroy enemies all by himself, he can act after every enemy’s turn. The same is also true for Lo Pheng in his first battle against the Reaper. [img]https://i.imgur.com/GU0zbZM.gif[/img] On the top of that, we have finally disabled 300 seconds per turn limit, and made this space fail-safe timer more useful. Now it shows the number of a round and its progress — based on how many characters made their move and its number. [h2]NEW MOVEMENT SYSTEM[/h2] [img]https://i.imgur.com/y4N6YJA.gif[/img] Another major change is an entirely new character movement system that we borrowed from our secret developments on an unannounced game. In the original version, the hero could only make one movement, and using a skill immediately ended the turn. Now characters have more freedom: they are only limited by movement points and can move after using abilities. It provides more opportunities for tactical planning — you can now break the distance with an opponent after attacking, hide a weak character behind the backs of allies, or change your decision if you make a wrong move. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/31161901/d484a09b5aea0fd884e5e2c605971f5ad355deb3.gif[/img] It is worth mentioning that you can plan your moves from the very start as we have also added the ability to check your enemies and their skills during the positioning phase. [h2]NEW CARD SYSTEM[/h2] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/31161901/c128cd4448d92adf4541f9ddf323017e3e9efeca.gif[/img] We have literally destroyed and rebuilt the combat cards to make them more useful and interesting — some were removed, and others were reworked. Additionally, the player now starts the journey with fewer cards in the initial deck (two instead of five). The cards themselves no longer require a separate turn — you can play a card and then act with the chosen character. [img]https://i.imgur.com/DEOUsPi.gif[/img] We also got rid of the mechanic of obtaining cards by collecting their fragments — no more worrying about missing them and spending gold on them. Now, cards are awarded for key battles and can also be obtained in story dialogues. This way we've added an additional progression to the game, introducing stronger cards gradually, and you won't be stuck with the same options through out the whole game. [img]https://i.imgur.com/M6Ledgm.gif[/img] The UI of the cards has been improved as well: available cards are shown by default during combat when you can use them and are hidden when they can't be played. [h2]SKILLS REWORK[/h2] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/31161901/b070d67137972bd000e4ea86cb2d09086d97cf6e.gif[/img] It’s also worth mentioning another problem from the original Redemption that annoyed many players — the use of powerful skills requiring a substantial health sacrifice from the character. We have significantly reduced the cost and effectiveness of such skills for most classes and completely removed them from archers as they did not make sense either tactically or narratively. However, we decided to leave these abilities for assassins, who can restore health when killing enemies. [img]https://i.imgur.com/8PctLNp.gif[/img] We may get back to this issue and completely remove such skills for regular classes, making players pay for powerful abilities with energy, thus reducing their mobility in the new movement system — but for now, we await your feedback. [h2]EXPERIENCE REWORK[/h2] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/31161901/e8c7569291fb09351f05585470cf8d899a40b688.gif[/img] Party management was another pesky problem of the original game. As you can take only up to six characters to a fight, the 'benched' party members did not get any experience, gradually and hopelessly falling behind in progress, which made their use in the future significantly more difficult. New version of the game fixes the issue. Now even those who do not participate in fights receive a standard amount of experience. But it is also worth mentioning that characters on the battlefield can earn additional experience points by last hitting opponents. [h2]OTHER IMPORTANT CHANGES[/h2] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/31161901/f89d38ab7517a9247ce35048e83d46b370871aff.jpg[/img] Firstly, the game now supports 60 FPS instead of 30, making it feel much smoother and more pleasant for the eyes. Secondly, we have improved the enemy AI — they will no longer ignore you, hiding in the corner of the map. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/31161901/145fb01fb327c12eb4b8e4a6e0078fc1227efed8.png[/img] Thirdly, we made quite a few improvements to the UI — adjusted item management and tooltips, added an indication of receiving new cards, and indication for save slots with mode labels and Reworked version is marked with 'NEW' banner. Additionally, we seem to have fixed the issue of supposedly disappearing saves — previously, this was resolved by re-logging into your Steam account, but it shouldn’t occur anymore. Please let us know if this is not so. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/31161901/67fcf490dbec1466a3006c4bcf0496afadf32e14.gif[/img] Meanwhile, we continue to work on new improvements — there are still things in our list, so expect more changes soon. A huge thanks to everyone who participated in the testing — many changes were made possible thanks to your help and prompt feedback. Remember, you can always [b][url=https://discord.gg/ashofgods]contact us in our Discord channel and leave your opinion in the #feedback section[/url][/b]. And please support us with an honest review on Steam if you like what we do — it's most valuable to know that our players appreciate our efforts in improving the game. https://store.steampowered.com/app/691690/Ash_of_Gods_Redemption/