Mind Over Magic News

May 13

• Fix to potential crash when a Dining Table is full.
  
• Fix for delivery issue when a Mage tries to carry more than one full stack of an ingredient.
  
• Fix to potential crash related to Hallway Runners.
  

May 10

• Fix to crafting stations operating without a Mage.
  

May 9

• Fix to Spectral Croa so they don't fly.
  
• Fix for Chest Smasher anims not working.
  
• Fix for potential issues with Cronebug Pens, Weaver Bird Nests, and Lavalina Stys after they've been shrunk and enlarged.
  

May 8

• Fix some cases where Mages would get stuck not picking up a Task.
  
• Fix for combat icons not being visible.
  

This update introduces new ways for Mages to get around the school faster. Broom Racks provide point to point flight and Hallway Runners let Mages move faster in hallways. Mages can also now batch resource deliveries, making Haul tasks more efficient.



[h2]Broom Travel[/h2]

• New Broom Rack lets Mages fly between any two Broom Racks as long as there is a Broom available.
  
• Brooms are created by delivering Wood to Broom Racks.
  

[h2]Hallway Runners[/h2]

• New Hallway Runner rugs with updated visuals provide a speed boost to Mages walking on them.
  
• They are placed on the front edge of Floor/Foundation by dragging out a row.
  
• They can now be placed in doorways.
  
• Pre-existing Hallway Runners have not been removed, but can no longer be created in the old way.
  

[h2]AI and Resource Drop Improvements[/h2]

• When delivering Resources for Tasks, Mages doing the Haul Tasks will pick up multiple stacks of the same Resource if possible to consolidate multiple trips into one.
  
• When a Resource is picked up for Storage, the entire stack will be taken. If the whole stack cannot fit in the destination Storage, the amount that will fit is added and another destination chosen for the rest. If no other Storage is available, the remaining amount is left on the ground.
  
• Haulers will try to put Resources in Storage furnishings that already have some of that Resource, if the Storage is in the same room as the otherwise ideal Storage destination and both Storage destinations have the same Priority.
  
• Move Tasks choose the closest Mage that is ready for the Task so that a far-away Mage doesn’t take the Task when there's an idle or interruptible Mage nearby.
  
• When new Resources are dropped, allow them to stack with other Resources already claimed for a Store task.
  
• Multiple small changes making Resource drops more likely to add to existing stacks. Bubble text now appears when this happens.
  

[h2]Gameplay Changes[/h2]

• All Hallowlily Bloom costs are replaced with Smokepearl costs.
  
• Graves still grow Hallowlilies for decorative purposes but they can no longer be Harvested or Tended.
  
• Graves no longer create Ghosts.
  
• The research hierarchy has been modified slightly. If this directly affects your save game, you should get a notification when you first visit the Research screen.
  
• When a Mage repels Fog covering the school foundation to become Font Steward, that status is removed from all other Mages.
  
• Needs for Cursebound Mages and Mages Trapped in Crystals are frozen rather than being reset to full.
  
• Needs for Mages that are At Death’s Door update as if the Mage was sleeping normally instead of always being frozen.
  
• Repel Fog rituals always drop Murky Crystals that can be mined for Smokepearls.
  

[h2]Fixes & Improvements[/h2]

• Auto-pause for Reprieve events defaults to off in Gameplay Settings.
  
• Added VFX to eat and sleep animations.
  
• You can now right-click to make a direct order for construction on a construction block that is being replaced.
  
• Changed Ghost movement so Ghosts are less likely to travel long distances while halfway in the ground.
  
• Fixed an issue where using a potion between battles in a locked wing of the Underschool can result in not being able to use potions of that type in the next battle.
  
• Fixed an issue where the Provided Tasks tab on a selected Mage could overflow.
  
• Doors, hallways, and stairs that are deconstructed will check areas that will be automatically filled in for items that are in the way and move or remove them (refunding Resources) as appropriate.
  
• Fix for Store alerts icons sometimes blinking in at the wrong location briefly.
  
• Fix incorrect 'bury' text when giving direct order to store a quilted helper corpse.
  
• Sort available Tasks to the top of right-click orders UI.
  
• Fix cases where Mages were stuck when trying to deliver ingredients when there weren't enough available.
  
• Fix for not being able to place objects where you should, related to doors being marked for deletion. Also back-compat fix for games broken in this way.
  
• Fix clicks and hovers not working for truncated names in the resources panel. Primarily affects various Quilted types, particularly corpses.
  
• Fix group skill range to be 0-8 instead of 0-7.
  

These plans will evolve during development, but we are currently working on:

• Major Release: Mage advancement changes.
  
• Major Release: Dragons!!! Now with 3 exclamations.
  

We've seen reports that some players are not able to start a new game or load existing saves after the most recent update. This is likely a timing issue on some hardware. Sorry about that! This hotfix is a likely fix for that issue.

This release brings a visual overhaul of Research along with the ability to queue it up as much as you'd like. The Groups UI has been been reworked for ease of use and more control over setting up groups of Mages. You can now even set Mage priorities by group instead of only by individual with the new Advanced Mode.

Thanks so much to our players during the prerelease testing for all their feedback.



[h2]Quality of Life: Research[/h2]

• Research now allows freeform queueing and automatically handles prerequisites. There is a drag and drop list to rearrange the queue.
  
• Selecting a Research node provides a dedicated area for information instead of relying on hover text.
  
• New visuals for the research tree and background.
  
• Find functionality more prominent with improved presentation.
  
• The research hierarchy has been modified slightly. If this directly affects your save game, you will get a notification when you visit the Research screen to explain what has changed.
  

[h2]Quality of Life: Groups[/h2]

• Improved layout throughout with options for condensed view and showing built-in groups.
  
• Updated UI and logical consistency for conditions.
  
• Added picker to replace the dropdowns and the ability to search for Statuses, etc.
  
• New conditions added: Time of Day, Wand Type, Trial and Medallion type.
  
• Each Quilted helper type now gets its own built-in group.
  
• Ability to enable and disable conditions without deleting them.
  
• Ability to Export and Import groups to clipboard or preferences.
  

[h2]Quality of Life: Task Type Priorities[/h2]

• Added default rows for Staff and Students.
  
• New Advanced Mode allows for using Groups in Task Type Priorities and ability to remove individuals so they use their first matching Group.
  
• In Advanced Mode, option to auto-add staff or students to the Task Type priority list. Defaults to off.
  

[h2]Gameplay Changes[/h2]

• Made breaks generally more robust so they have their intended effect more often.
  
• Binge break has additional Mage penalties if there is nothing to eat.
  
• Added custom difficulty option to start with just one staff.
  
• Haul Tasks now try to deliver larger amounts of resources to Refining Beasts so fewer trips are required.
  

[h2]Fixes & Improvements[/h2]

• Show Lightning Rod ranges during placement and when selected. More to come on Lightning gameplay in a future update.
  
• Improvements to many UI sounds.
  
• Sounds for phase-in / phase-out audio when ghosts pass through solid blocks.
  
• New feed notifications sounds for Mages achieving Fully Trained and Full Honors.
  
• Enchantophone music can now be muted in audio settings
  
• Added a new audio cue when Dusk falls.
  
• Mage/Creature sounds can now be controlled in UI settings.
  
• Tasks that use placemarkers (like Move) now use the priority of the placemarker.
  
• Fix inconsistent Access order in UI (mainly Staff/Students on teaching stations).
  
• Re-rolling Mages no longer changes manually set Mage names.
  
• Reduced length of Trial & Medallion names for a better fit.
  
• Fix to not being able to click on some auto-pause options in the gameplay settings.
  
• Fix animations when a Mage dies while At Death's Door.
  
• Move Task now has a right-click option for direct order on placemarker.
  
• Hauler Helper range and animations fixed.
  
• Fix for Underschool Doors and staircase animations so they start opened on game load if they should be opened.
  
• Loves Mining Medallion is no longer mis-named as Loves Harvesting
  
• The Light / Clutter / Filth filters will now say "will spawn when able" when the Voidshroom / Gremlin / Ooze is blocked from spawning in a room, rather than displaying a negative timer value.
  
• Roof pieces fixed so they do not overhang the back of the school
  
• Direct room upgrades will be prioritized for display by the room filter when showing possible changes.
  
• No longer show the Medical Rest alert for Mages already doing Medical Rest.
  
• Support for Thai glyphs.
  

These plans will evolve during development, but we are currently working on:

• Regular Release: Fast Travel #1 will include a couple of tools for speeding up movement above ground.
  
• Major Release: Student advancement changes.
  
• Major Release: Dragons!! Always with an exclamation. Or two.