I’ve made significant updates to Swordai over the past few weeks, focusing on gameplay improvements, balancing, and bug fixes. Below is a summary of all changes, along with an exciting announcement for this weekend's events! [b]The servers will be opened from the 15th until the 22nd of December following our special weekend events![/b] [hr][/hr] [h1]Special Weekend Events[/h1] Join me for two exciting events this weekend! [h2]2v2 Tournament: Saturday at [b]1 PM Pacific[/b][/h2] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44868685/50d5a8389948ddf69e0621e52a8ee3df61c98c7c.png[/img] [h2]Tower Race Challenge: Sunday [b]at 1 PM Pacific[/b][/h2] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44868685/32c9b162b01d3cf9861948a8c5f78e584a3a7126.png[/img] [h2]Prizes[/h2] [b]Winners of the 2v2 Tournament:[/b] Exclusive in-game titles and special cosmetic rewards. [b]Fastest in the Tower Race Challenge:[/b] Rare item drop boosts and leaderboard recognition. These events will be streamed live, so be sure to tune in or participate directly! [hr][/hr] [h2]Patch Notes[/h2] [olist] [*] [h3]New Features[/h3] [list] [*] Preliminary 3rd-Person Mode: Toggle with the Home key (default is now "V" and bindable). [*] Spectator Mode: Dead players in the tower now spectate the player with the most essence in the area. [*] Note: Fixes for far-away spectating implemented; further UI enhancements ongoing. [*] Combat Log Updates: Added options to display the last log line onscreen and toggle damage/essence text visibility. [*] Barrier Statue Challenge: Added a new tutorial element in "Beginnings" requiring players to deal 60 damage in two hits from different directions. [/list] [*][h3]Gameplay Adjustments[/h3] [list] [*] Animation Improvements: Smoother walk/run/idle transitions; reworked swing animations for down-left, down-right, and upright angles. [*] AI Enhancements: [*] Improved AI range and spacing to reduce missed attacks. [*] Some AI now utilize sprint boosts to chase players effectively (e.g., puppeteers and lost souls). [*] Adjusted AI difficulty scaling: higher levels are less vulnerable to spacing exploits, while lower levels retain weaknesses for new players. [/list] [*][h3]Combat Mechanics:[/h3] [list] [*] Introduced "perfect blocks," refunding stamina for blocking an attack within 750ms of initiating the block. Plays a unique sound and logs as "perfectly blocked." [*] Stagger updates: Hits 200ms after a stagger begins will break the stagger. [*] Removed "on-hit slow" effect; replaced with a "chase" speed buff when sprinting towards another player’s back within 10 meters. [*] Increased base attack damage by 20% for testing in PvP scenarios (may require NPC rebalancing). [*] Stamina Regeneration: Increased both idle and running regen rates significantly. [/list] [*][h3]Balancing Changes[/h3] [list] [*] [b]Rewards and Scaling[/b]: [*] Increased tower time rewards for defeating golems and scavengers. [*] Adjusted tutorial flow: the tutorial is now optional, and unlocking features have been streamlined. [*] Added new freeform and tower modes disabling cultivation upgrades, randomizing load-outs, and preventing item portals. [*] Equipment Changes: Removed "undying" and "equality" from randomized load-outs as they were incompatible. [/list] [*][h3]Bug Fixes[/h3] [list] [*] Resolved memory leak issues on tower servers. [*] Fixed spectator mode bugs when viewing players across the map. [/list] [*][h3]NPC Behavior Fixes:[/h3] [list] [*] Coffin-spawned NPCs now return to their coffins after losing sight of their targets. [*] Addressed an issue where duel climb AI would fall off levels. [*] Fixed NPCs holding attacks too long under certain conditions. [*] Resolved a glitch where hovering over status effects didn’t display their descriptions. [*] Fixed issues with freeform floor visuals at certain angles. [*] Miscellaneous UI fixes and improvements. [/list] [*][h3]Quality of Life Improvements[/h3] [list] [*] Added a reticule animation when targeting valid objects or enemies. [*] Made the "Enter" key for chat bindable. [*] Tessellation detection updated to improve GPU compatibility. [*] Updated UI elements in the tutorial to better convey progress. [*] Adjusted the moving platform in "Beginnings" to prevent resets regardless of the time taken. [*] The Health bar now rounds up (e.g., 0.4 HP displays as 1 HP).[/list][/olist] [hr][/hr] [b][h3]Developer notes[/h3][/b] I’m closely monitoring these changes based on your feedback. The removal of the "on-hit slow" effect and introduction of "chase speed" was aimed at balancing disengagement mechanics, particularly in 1vX scenarios. Perfect blocks and stagger updates are early steps toward enhancing combat depth. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44868685/8926a7fa2a13fcf0ba2b8e55512042e33d9d6dea.png[/img] [b]Don’t forget to join me this weekend for the 2v2 Tournament and Tower Race Challenge[/b]—your participation and feedback are vital! As always, please share your thoughts with me on [b][url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/2321890/Swordai/]Discord[/url][/b] or [b][url=https://steamcommunity.com/app/2321890/discussions/]Steam discussions[/url][/b]. Your input is crucial as I continue refining Swordai! https://store.steampowered.com/app/2321890/Swordai/