Before we kick off - I'd like to thank everyone for the patience through the 1.7 -> 1.8 update cycles, with many of these patches being focused on QoL changes, alongside the implementation & tuning of a Matchmaking system which we found that ultimately, had to be removed in it's current form as it simply did not benefit the game in the long-term. While it can often be frustrating as players to see development time result in a feature that returns to the suggestion pile, the learnings that can be taken from this on both a design, and mechanics perspective certainly doesn't go to waste; particularly, in providing stark and blunt truths on what should be the focus on increasing overall fun in current & future updates, and in what should be avoided for major development focuses. [h3]With that, it's on with the show - Welcome to Split or Steal 1.8![/h3] [i]For those of you returning for the first time since 1.7 dropped, a condensed [b]tl,dr; update history across 1.7 -> 1.8 has been included at the bottom of this post[/b], alongside a list of features which didn't quite make the cut for 1.8, but are planned for inclusion in a future mini-update.[/i] [h3]Massive performance improvements[/h3] SoS 1.8 has been massively overhauled in order to improve overall game performance at all levels. On high settings, you should now see a reduction of around 20-30% in memory, and CPU/GPU usage. On low, or WebGL settings, these performance gains translate closer to running the game while using around 60% less resources. With this being a major rewrite of how the game handles resource loading & usage, note that some minor hiccups are to be expected - but do please drop a note on our [url=https://discordapp.com/invite/vBRUhar]Discord[/url] if you run into any problems! Outside of improving overall performance, this has allowed allowed for graphics improvements for WebGL/Browser players (inclusive of allowing for an optional 60FPS mode), Standalone Clients running on Low/Standard settings. [h3]Standalone Pets[/h3] Possibly the longest-requested feature since SoS launched v1.2 back in mid-2019; Pets are now available as Standalone Cosmetics. Coupled with this, the amount of available pets has increased from 6, up to 21! Similar to character models and lighting, pets additionally contribute towards your Daily Artifact Bonus. Note that with this being a brand new Cosmetic item type, you can safely predict that the amount of available items in this category will rise sharply in future updates. Pets become unlockable once you have opened 10 Artifacts. If you already owned the cosmetics which came with pets previously, you'll be awarded the value of these skins in coins upon logging in - which will allow you to pick them straight back up from the new store. [h3]Twitch Integration[/h3] Twitch can be thanked for the initial burst of players that arrived in with the Steam Release - and, given the social nature of SoS, it's definitely a platform that suits the community well. This release marks the first iteration of Twitch Integration into SoS, which will allow streamers to connect to their Twitch Channels, and allow for real-time Twitch Chat display (from their own channel [b](or any other publicly available channel!)[/b] to be displayed in-game, alongside supporting real-time split/steal voting on games! With this being the first iteration of integrating a streaming service into SoS, the features available right now are obviously a little barebones - but similar to the Standalone Pets, we can safely expect this to be expanded upon in future patches. If you're streaming SoS, please do drop by on our [url=https://discordapp.com/invite/vBRUhar]Discord[/url], and let us know what sort of Streamer features you'd like to see added in the future! [i](Note: Due to requiring a socketed connection, Twitch Integration is only available on the Standalone (Steam/Kartridge) Clients. Support for Browser-based clients is unfortunately not possible at this time.)[/i] [h3]New Cosmetics, and Flag Reworks[/h3] Some of the older flag lighting kits were looking a little worse for wear - particularly those built around the first version of SoS, back in early 2019. The U.S. Flag for instance, just being two squares laid on top of eachother. Or the French flag's colours being displayed backwards. A large range of old flags have been completely re-worked, and have been joined by an additional 8 new Lighting Cosmetics! [h3]New Event: Anonymous Hours[/h3] The Anonymous Hours event does as it says on the tin - for four hours twice a week, every game becomes Anonymous. During this time, Global Chat will be switched offline, and all tiers will become - as you can expect - anonymous, similar to what's currently seen at High Stakes. With this new level of risk in play during the event, Coin Rewards from matches are increased by 50%! Anonymous Hours are currently set to take place between 11am and 3pm on Tuesdays, and from 6pm to 10pm on Thursdays (all times UTC). Note that an additional Wednesday timeslot may be added to accommodate for those on the West Coast. [h3]An Actual Options Menu[/h3] Your "options" are no longer confined to "Audio/No Audio". A more complete options menu has now been made available, allowing for individual sfx/music/volume settings, alongside allowing you to turn on/off Character Particle effects, Lighting Particle effects, Real-time Reflections, and adjust your target Framerate. (As an aside; this is also where you can configure your Twitch Integration settings!) [h3]Expanded Emoji & Macro Games[/h3] The in-game Emoji set has been expanded on, bringing a host of new static emoji, alongside one new in-game animated emoji into the fray. Macro Games have been expanded on to allow for better readability with the above emoji set (cards displaying their suits as emoji, rather than written text), alongside introducing double-card draws, and roulette spins. [h3]Better Newbie Tutorials[/h3] New players are now given 60,000 coins after reaching Tier 9 for the first time, and are encouraged to pick up a skin in order to avoid incurring the wrath of those who see a Default Dan in High Stakes. Additionally, new players will also be better directed towards the Artifacts Menu in order to get them moving towards their intended incremental gains. [h3]Art Grant & Cosmetic Reward Buffs[/h3] Art Grants & Cosmetic Rewards were again starting to fall behind where they should be at the high level of play - Art Grants have been buffed to better reflect what they should be rewarding at the high end, while Cosmetic Rewards now cap at 2bn per cosmetic item, rather than 1bn. [h3]QoL Improvements[/h3] There's far too many to list - but just about everything should (hopefully) feel a little better. Menu's should scroll that bit faster, Loading times should be better indicated, and Game Elements should be that bit more animated. [h2]1.7 -> 1.8 Summary[/h2] Coming back for a look since the last Major Update? Here's a quick summary of what's been added since 1.7; [list] [*] Daily Rewards added [*] ORGs: Officer roles & Ownership Transfers added [*] +25% Coins Weekend Event added [*] Scaled Artifact pricing capped at 60mil/art [*] "Buy All Artifacts" Option [*] Artifact Discount stat added to HQ Buildings [*] Artifact Discounts based off Karma Values [*] Large buffs given to HQ Buildings (particularly on Split/Steal % bonuses) [*] HQ Stats now update immediately after constructing a new Building [*] New Lighting Cosmetics added [*] Chat Improvements & Animated Emoji support [*] [strike]New Matchmaking Systems[/strike] (Removed) [/list] [h2]Features which didn't make the cut[/h2] Some content had to be cut from 1.8 to get it live in any reasonable time - the planned content is listed below, which I'm hoping will appear in a mini-update in the near future. [list] [*] Scaling Daily/Weekly Leaderboard Rewards [*] Hiding base pots at High Stakes [*] ORG Loyalty Rewards (minor +% multipliers to base pots based off length of time in ORG) [*] Better ORG Chat/ORG Chat available on the Main Screen [*] Fixing HQ display numbers to reflect the Doubler correctly (numbers are already calculated/rewarded correctly on the bankend!) [/list] [h2]Beyond 1.8[/h2] Following this round of QoL Changes and Feature Additions, the major focus now will be both shifting towards bringing SoS to more platforms (yes, there'll be a mobile port at some point! And no, we're not going to suddenly become exclusive to any other online stores), while also expanding upon the existing features, and cosmetic systems that are in place currently. More details coming on the above very soon - and if you want to get your say in and let us know what you'd like to see in an upcoming patch, or what kind of platforms you'd like to see us go live on, [url=https://discordapp.com/invite/vBRUhar]Join us on our Discord![/url]. Until next time - keep on keeping yourselves safe, and keep on hitting that vault like it owes you money! ❤️