Hellish Quart News

Hellish Quart pre-alpha v.2024.02.07.0

FIX:
- fixed regression: too fast camera rotation movement during fights
- 5 skulls AI: fixed Dead, Victory and Training TapTap states
- Refactored the Long Guard state detection so the aiming IK is turned on only when you hold the button, and not when the animation is in LG (it fixes occasional twitches when transitioning from LG to High Guard attacks)
- Isabella: sword IK will turn off, if a thrust attack hits, but does not kill the opponent, and there is a follow-up cut attack
- fixed camera not showing closeup on the winner in non-sharp weapons modes

We are still working hard on the Story Mode, but in the meantime - some tweaks and fixes.

Hellish Quart pre-alpha v.2024.02.06.0

FIX:
- Fixed a bug where a neutral guard was invoked after letting go of the Long Guard button, instead of the desired guard requested from an incoming attack
- Jacek: Fixed a bug where blood decals were still visible in "no blood" modes
- Fixed a bug where hit and death voice efforts were played with very low volume (but note that not all characters have voiceovers yet)
- Gedeon: fixed a bug where sometimes additive animations remained on his hands after a fight (twisted hand)
- Fixed some bad LOD systems on models and trees that could have resulted in slowing down the game
- Alexander: fixed a bug where he could cancel some attacks without respecting the next attack cooldown after cancel
- Alexander: fixed a bug in (LFF) Y, X attack animation
- Alexander: fixed a bug where (LG) Y thrust attack was disengaging the bind guard
- Camera tracking speeds up if the fighters are about to cross the camera line (for example, when they circle around each other)
- Fixed a bug where AI opponent's hands would twitch when doing High Guard attacks
- Jacek: fixed a bug where his thrust IK was aiming after physics pass, making the thrusts force through blocks and hit even when blocked
- A polish pass on Long Guard (animation tree tweaks)
- Father Zera: (RFF) LG+X short thrust triggers a more proper guard

TWEAK:
- General physics settings tweaks (focus on eliminating impossible to solve collisions, aka "sticky blades")
- Sword collision physics tweaks (focus on eliminating impossible to solve collisions, aka "sticky blades")
- Sword hit detectors are now moved a bit to the front of the blades to prevent detecting the opponent's sword that is already behind the back edge / already past the guard
- Canceling attacks in active frames when the opponent is also attacking only applies to cut attacks now; thrusts can't be canceled on active frames now
- Jacek: Snap cuts animation tweaks so they don't go under the opponent's guard
- Rebaked lighting in most arenas
- Jacek: tweaked the Step Lunge (LG) Fwd, X animation
- Changed the audio clip of the 10 ducats reward to a better one
- Survival mode: gets a bit harder after 14 wins and yet harder after 18
- Zera: faster follow-up attacks after Taunt
- Jacek: tweaked the Y and Fwd + Y attack trajectories
- Consolidated the behavior or Close Attacks (punches) for all characters - In place, backward and forward attacks in very close range result in Close Attacks, but sidestep attacks don't.
- Gedeon: a bit shorter (than everyone else's) hit reaction animations
- Gedeon: a bit faster attacks
- Gedeon: whiffs are a bit less tiring

NEW:
- New AI tier (Fencer AI) - WIP
- Gedeon: added body sway animations on top of the movement to help dodge attacks
- Right of Way indicator: you can now choose the crown, a UI icon on the side of the screen, or no indicator
- You can now choose between the Stable and the Precise sword collision solvers. In Stable mode, if an impossible to solve scenario happens, the swords will just give in and get pushed away, even in an "impossible" direction, for a split second. In Precise mode the swords will not give in and will try to continue on their simulated trajectory, even if it is impossible - this results in looking like the blades got stuck to each other for a split second. The default is Stable.
- New Arena: River
- Tutorial: Added Binding and Taunt mechanics videos (temporary)
- Water splashes when characters walk in water
- New UI for difficulty choice in vs AI duels
- The sword sharpness choice is gone from the character selection menu (you can still change sharpness/damage modifier in the Options menu)


TIP: You can access previous versions of the game using the Beta branches in the Steam Client. Right click on Hellish Quart in the Steam client, choose Properties, Beta, and select a desired version using the dropdown menu.

TIP: If you are experiencing really weird bugs, like pink textures, crashes, no geometry, levels not loading, etc., please verify the game files in the Steam client (right click on the game -> Local Files -> Verify integrity of game files...).

Community Update

Hello fencers!

We'd like to provide you with an update on the current state of Hellish Quart.

The game is still in Early Access, and we are making slow but steady progress towards an alpha version. By alpha, we mean that the Story mode of Hellish Quart should be finishable, and all main characters should be playable. Following this milestone, our focus will shift towards the beta version. This entails having all content and features in place and locked, allowing us to concentrate on testing, bug fixing, and balancing. Once we believe the game is ready, we'll release it as the final product.

At present, we are finalizing a short supporting story for one of our main characters, Jacek. This roughly 30-minute episode (duration may vary based on your fighting skill!) will introduce a new form of adventure game-like gameplay in Hellish Quart. It will showcase the style of in-game cutscenes, set the pacing of the story mode, and establish the tone of the entire game.

In a deliberate decision, we have chosen to feature the voiceovers for the story in Polish rather than English. While we understand this may pose a challenge for non-Polish speakers, there are several reasons behind this choice. Our writer crafted the game's story in Polish, we, the developers, are Polish, and the story unfolds in Poland. The characters in the narrative would naturally speak Polish, reflecting the rich variety of accents present here. Having been inspired by films like "Potop" or "With Fire and Sword," we, as developers, can authentically gauge if the dialogues fit the setting. This authenticity might be compromised if we worked with English-speaking actors attempting to mimic the 17th-century Polish and Ruthenian way of speaking. However, subtitles will be localized to other languages.

Mechanically, Jacek's story is now playable from start to finish. We are currently working on finalizing the remaining cutscenes, ensuring they are polished and visually appealing. Additionally, we are developing the second boss fight of the game against Maryne Ludzicka, which will conclude this episode.

Following the release of Jacek's short story, we plan to transition the game to a newer version of the Unity engine. This upgrade will significantly enhance the graphics and, simultaneously, by incorporating DLSS and FSR, improve performance on lower-end machines.

NOTE: You can already use FSR or Nvidia Image Scaling from outside the game by configuring it in your graphics card driver app, such as NVIDIA GeForce Experience or AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition. Steam Deck users can also utilize it as it is built into the console.

Thank you for being a part of the Early Access journey. We greatly appreciate your contribution to shaping this game and your patience!

If you are thinking about getting Hellish Quart, but want to know about the controls and the gameplay first, then this video is for you!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

FIX:
- Fixed a bug where unlocking Barabasz Skin 3 also unlocked Jan Skin 3 and vice versa. Sorry, my mistake!