Abalon News

Thanks for playing and sharing your feedback with me! This update fixes bugs introduced in the last version and features a major overhaul to the AI worker system that I hope will result in greater responsiveness and less AI timeouts. The "big" AI update is still coming but this update has lots of the legwork that should improve technical performance.

Stay tuned for our upcoming Double XP Event that I'll be kicking off later this week :)

1. AI Improvement: Optimized the AI worker thread by creating it from a dedicated byte array and having it transfer only the definition data it needs from the main thread rather than having it load all definitions. This should result in considerable memory usage and performance and hopefully eliminate many of the AI timeout errors that primarily occur on Android. Note: Maps heavy in units or complex spell calculations may still result in timeouts, but I'm still working on building the new AI engine and expect I'll be able to resolve remaining timeouts when this is rolled out.
   
2. Performance: Removed embedded loading screen backgrounds from the main application runtime to reduce memory and overhead.
   
3. Fixed Bug where interacting with the Skeleton Bros encounter could result in one of the bros spawning on top of a player's unit causing them to be removed from the party. (Thanks fchswd)
   
4. Fixed Bug where dealing ice damage to a fire elemental would cause all status effects and equipment to be removed from them, including challenge modifier status. (Thanks Manchot_Royal)
   
5. Fixed Bug where unequipping Saddlebags from an animal wearing the Wizard Hat would not also unequip the Wizard Hat (which requires the ability to use summoner gear). (Thanks burritonator)
   
6. Fixed Bug where fast traveling into a treasure room with brambles blocking pathing such that your entire party doesn't fit in the pathable area could result in your party being truncated and losing members. Terrain such as brambles will not be removed automatically to make room for your party. (Thanks SHAWSHANKER)
   
7. Fixed Bug where cards stolen from Glyph of Nitsrott, Stolen Dreams, Dreamstealer and the Skeleton Dragon boss were being cast by the original owner of the spell instead of the character whole stole them. (Thanks Ephryos, KagitarShadowscale, QuantumEnigma, Adam and many others!)
   
8. Fixed Bug where Gate of Fate failed to summon the next unit within player's deck as described on its card. (Thanks wmfrederick, Forke, Arlimon and Andy)
   
9. Fixed Bug where context 3D loss could result in an error when attempting to update god ray VFX. (Thanks Con)
   
10. Balance: Increased the max equippable item count on Summoner in Survival Mode from 5 to 16 since there is no way to unequip summoner gear due to the nature of the continuous battles. This way, players can now utilize all of the artifacts discovered. (Thanks yaj0779)
    
11. QoL: Removed the "Welcome back to Abalon! Tap to continue." screen that would hold the game paused when returning to a battle. (Thanks Whitewolf)
    
12. QoL: Added the Summoner Gear tag to Wizard Hat, Emperor Robes and Sacrificial Orb to be consistent with other artifacts. (Thanks jack)
    
13. QoL: When unlocking a boss pillar, the map will now reveal that a boss is located in that area. (Thanks Manchot_Royal)
    
14. Fixed Bug where the Super Summons challenge modifier could grant player units the +1/+1 bonus if the new unit for the player was summoned by an enemy (ex: Toxic Spores spawn Cornflowers for the player when enemy units are defeated). (Thanks Manchot_Royal)
    
15. QoL: Set a 500 character limit of on the Share Feedback prompt to ensure your messages are translated and delivered instantly via Discord to Ross. (Thanks Scotty_Money and fchswd) It's best to use this feature as "one issue per report" and ideally submit your request during the same battle in which you observe a bug so that I can address your feedback as timely as possible.
    
16. Fixed Bug where shooting a fireball at barrel near trees in explore mode would result in the trees setting on fire before the fireball impacted. (Thanks Arianna and ElCarpintero79)
    
17. Fixed Bug where the sacrificial orb unit destruction grants extra mana if the unit is equipped with weapons. (Thanks Das)
    
18. Fixed Bug where the Portuguese translation for the purchase loyal animal prompt wasn't presenting any choices. (Thanks Das)
    
19. Fixed Bug where firing a barrage of squirrels at a unit with a shield wouldn't disarm the block after the first squirrel impact. Now, successive impacts from additional squirrels will hit the target.
    

Many of our players have asked me for a way to help support the continued development of Abalon, so I setup a "Buy Me a Coffee" page where you can make one-time or recurring contributions.

[h2]Reviews[/h2]
We've successfully hit part 1 of my year-end goal for Abalon: 500+ reviews! Thank you all so much :)

Part 2: Can we make it to "Overwhelmingly Positive"? As of today, we're at 94%. We need just 1% more to make it to 95% and hit this goal! I estimate we currently need about ~17 more positive reviews to hit the mark. I'd greatly appreciate your help to write a Steam review. Let me know what you like about the game and also where I can continue to improve for you. If I've addressed your feedback, please update your review. You can also leave me feedback directly in game via Menu -> Share Feedback. I personally read and do my best to reply back to every single player request.

Thank you so much for your thoughtfulness and ongoing support :)

~Ross

Thanks again to everyone for your support and feedback! It is my pleasure to continue improving the game for you. I personally read and respond to your in-game feedback. If you haven't tried this feature yet, give it a go by using Menu -> Share Feedback. I even credit player suggested fixes in each update's release notes.

I'm continuing to work on improving the AI engine, upcoming major updates (leaderboard leagues, Descent 20, etc.) and our next expansion (Caves). In the meantime, here are some more requested balance and bug fixes.

1. Fixed Bug where Sojurn's Defender ability enabled protected units with shields to negate pierce and fully block the incoming attack. (Thanks Anotnio)
   
2. Fixed Bug where a neutral unit could be spawned adjacent to a doorway within a dungeon, potentially blocking the way forward. (Thanks Ivellios)
   
3. QoL: While in explore mode, pickup items (ex: dice, keys, etc.) will now appear above obstacles that could obscure them from view such as rocks and trees. (Thanks kenny9999k)
   
4. QoL: Improved the "bump" detection while exploring in camp and other areas to make navigation easier while still fixing the "stuck on shopkeeper" bug that could previously occur.
   
5. QoL: Moved the code for tracking found cards in the Run Summary from the ChooseCardAction to the ChooseCardEffect so that it would correctly track the changes when reloading a game state. Previously, if a player chose a card during battle, then exited and returned, the card found for that choice would not be incremented since the ChooseCardAction only plays when the player initially interacts with the prompt. Now it will correctly store in game state.
   
6. Fixed Bug where attempting to equip an item (ex: Wizard Hat) on a character that is maxed out and then viewing their card and closing could still draw that item on the character. (Thanks yaj)
   
7. Fixed Bug where null pointer exception Error #1009 could potentially occur when attempting to getAsset. (Thanks exeefexe)
   
8. Fixed Bug where run summary score might appear to temporarily drop when using the portal to go to the next chapter.
   
9. Fixed Bug where AI Sync Error could occur as a result of the AI possessing a Barbarian with Mind Control. (Thanks Guest_305859)
   
10. Fixed Bug with Pied Pipe where animals equipped with gear costing more than 0 would leave the party after battle. (Thanks wmfrederick)
    
11. Balance: Added property to track the number of loyal animals from Pied Pipe so that it doesn't continue to add more if some loyal animals are waiting outside of battle. (Thanks jack)
    
12. Fixed Bug where unit burning animation persisted if attacked by a frost elemental wielding a fire sword. (Thanks Anotnio)
    
13. Fixed Bug with Incinerator so that it now works while equipped to saddle bags (Thanks yaj)
    
14. Fixed Bug where a players initial starting cards would be removed from the game instead of returning to the tortoise when removed from the deck if the player started the adventure, quit, and resumed before dismissing the initial adventure prompt. This bug also caused the card count at the tortoise in shop to appear negative or below expected value and could potentially remove loyal hellhound puppy as well. (Thanks Dobermann)
    
15. Fixed Bug where using the Hero Doll was counting as a card found for the run score summary instead of as a bonus card. (Thanks Manchot_Royal)
    
16. Balance: Exiled Cards will now return to the deck as soon as battle has ended rather than when exploration mode starts. This fixes bug where cards like Rejuvenation might not return to the deck at all and instead go to the tortoise if played during one of the successive rounds of Sandpit Arena. This will also allow players to use Scribe to recover Exiled cards. (Thanks Manchot_Royal)
    
17. Balance: Added Fire tag to Wall of Fire and Ring of Fire, Cleansing Fire, Fire Elemental Scroll and Powder Keg so that they can receive the fire spell cost discount and appear in fire queries. Note: These spells do not benefit from Firepower or Spellpower as their damage does not come directly from the caster but rather the enchantment. (Thanks Manchot_Royal)
    
18. Fixed Bug where being defeated during the Sandpit arena encounter and reviving with a Joker Potion could result in the encounter being repeated when entering the ambush location again. (Thanks Moirin)
    
19. Fixed Bug where transforming back from an animal form while in the Sandpit Arena could prematurely end the Sandpit Arena encounter before completing the final round.(Thanks Manchot_Royal)
    
20. Balance: Removed the extra Armor (1) from Mad Metal Max boss encounter. (Thanks Anotnio)
    
21. Fixed Bug where Crest of Valor was increasing the counter attack damage in addition to combo damage. (Thanks Manchot_Royal)
    
22. Fixed Bug where rapidly pressing the Skip Turn button while the enemy is taking the first turn of battle could result in enemy hit points being greater than their actual value and cause an AI Sync Error. (Thanks Guest_284800, asd1212112 and Guest_308214)
    
23. Fixed Bug where Def_World$/fromMap() exception could occur (most commonly for first time players in the tutorial) if they enter the first battle before the AI backworker has completed initializing by adding a job queue that waits until initialization has completed before attempting to load the map for the AI. (Thanks Guest_313332)
    
24. Fixed Bug where Error #1009 handleCardSortError() could occur when examining card collections.
    
25. Fixed Bug where Fast Traveling to a cave corridor without a valid p1 spawn position resulted in Error 1009 getPlayerMapEdgePoint(). The teleport to map effect will now check neutral and p2 spawn positions and finally prompt the player if travel is still not possible. (Thanks Guest_8084)
    
26. Fixed Bug where exception Error 1009 makeButton() occurred if failing to connect to PlayerIO service while app is deactivated.
    
27. Fixed Bug where Error 1009 clearCardSortFilters() could occur when session ended and player is somehow in as guest.
    
28. Fixed Bug where Melt could remove non-removable status effects such as the health modifiers applied for Descent challenges. (Thanks Manchot_Royal)
    
29. QoL: Shopkeepers now receive the gold used to purchase loyal recruits at their shops so you can benefit from selling more cards back to them. (Thanks Anotnio)
    
30. Balance: Hellfire candle now deals damage directly to the wielder when used, ignoring armor.
    
31. QoL: Unlocking a boss room door will now mark the room as a boss on your map just like when you try to open the door before having the boss key. (Thanks Manchot_Royal)
    
32. Fixed Bug where using Tribal Transmutor to transform a temporarily controlled enemy into a tiger and then winning the battle could soft lock the game when the transformed enemy returns to the battlefield after the victory prompt. The transformed enemy will now be defeated and removed. (Thanks Esfinge)
    
33. Fixed Bug where being defeated and revived via a potion or being transformed to/from an animal could break hostile weather events.
    
34. Fixed Bug where the Dreamcatcher artifact could not be used to cast a loyal unit from the deck that entered the battle with the player's party and was defeated during the battle. (Thanks Manchot_Royal)
    
35. Context3D Loss Fixes: This update fixes a multitude of bugs being reported that were the result of the Context3D being lost at key moments. The Context3D is how the game speaks to your device's GPU. Yes, Abalon is technically a "3D game" even though its graphics are 2D. Neat, huh? Certain events (like hitting Alt+Ctrl+Del in Windows, closing your laptop lid, turning off the display on Steam Deck, minimizing the app or switching to another app that uses the GPU can result in Context3D loss and generate bugs that can be very difficult for a developer like me to reproduce and fix. To workaround that and finally resolve these issues, I created a series of oh-so-exciting debug commands that simulate various forms of Context3D loss and (with some luck) was finally able to reproduce the unreproducible bugs and fix them.
    
36. Resource Improvement: As a result of investigating the Context3D loss, I also rebuilt how the game manages resources such that when the app isn't being used (ex: minimized during launch) it will no longer attempt to load bitmaps into memory while it's unable to access the GPU, which should (in theory) result in better energy/battery/resource consumption for Steam Deck and mobile devices.
    
37. Gold Star: You made it to the end once again! Thanks for taking time to read and appreciate all the work I put into this game :)
    

Many of our players have asked me for a way to help support the continued development of Abalon, so I setup a "Buy Me a Coffee" page where you can make one-time or recurring contributions.

[h2]Reviews[/h2]
We've successfully hit part 1 of my year-end goal for Abalon: 500+ reviews! Thank you all so much :)

Part 2: Can we make it to "Overwhelmingly Positive"? As of today, we're at 94%. We need just 1% more to make it to 95% and hit this goal! I estimate we currently need about ~18 more positive reviews to hit the mark. I'd greatly appreciate your help to write a Steam review. Let me know what you like about the game and also where I can continue to improve for you. If I've addressed your feedback, please update your review. You can also leave me feedback directly in game via Menu -> Share Feedback. I personally read and do my best to reply back to every single player request.

Thank you so much for your thoughtfulness and ongoing support :)

~Ross

Just a little patch with a few more fixes for you!

1. Fixed Bug where player entering a narrow gap for a large map adjacent to a river could potentially start the map with their hero standing on the water and unable to move if there are no other valid spawn points along the chosen playable map bounds. The game will now search the entire playable bounds and choose the closest entry point. (Thanks Xomnikai)
   
2. Fixed Bug where the potential companions spawned at Roy Blanchard's bayou couldn't be recruited and were instead attacked when attempting to recruit them. (Thanks Garylove00)
   
3. Fixed Bug where the player's summoner could potentially get stuck on objects when retreating. (Thanks Clovis la Britannia)
   
4. Fixed Bug where Summoner equipped with woodcutter axe was unable to unlock the boss key door due to its unique interaction ability to chop trees. (Thanks Liv (Galathynius) and Guest_296755)
   
5. Fixed Bug where Nemesis encounter triggers but does not start a battle because the enemies arrive aligned as neutral instead of enemy due to the map having been previously assigned as an ambush. (Thanks Kazbad)
   
6. Fixed Bug where player could get a null exception on the card drag controls touch handler. (Thanks Juullinka)
   
7. Localization: updated Simplified and Traditional Chinese translations of Inflict Petrify. (Thanks jack)
   
8. Balance: Added 3 new minion encounters:
   
   1. 1x Water Elemental (Swamp, Difficulty 1)
      
   2. 2x Snake (Swamp, Difficulty 1)
      
   3. Maurader x4, Beetle x2, Scorpion x2 (Desert, Difficulty 8)
      

I'll be visiting with family till Monday. You can reach me on Discord if there's anything urgent I need to fix: https://discord.gg/d20studios. You can also use the in-game report tool (which also forwards to my Discord): Menu -> Share Feedback.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

~Ross

While I'm working to improve the AI engine and then back onto the next major features, here's another update for you containing more balance & bug fixes! As always, thank you so much for your feedback!

Remember, I personally read and respond to your in-game feedback daily during my work week (and often on the weekend, too) and I enjoy answering your questions and improving the game for you. If you haven't tried this feature yet, give it a go by using Menu -> Share Feedback. I even credit player suggested fixes in each update's release notes.

I'm also very active on our Discord server if you want to share videos, screenshots, meet other players, chat about the game, or even try out our upcoming multiplayer via the beta signup: https://discord.gg/d20studios

1. Balance: Summoned placable obstacles (ex: Wall of Brambles, Wall of Ice, Brick Blocks, etc.) are now destroyed upon entering explore mode.
   
2. Balance: Retreat Changes: Placable obstacles (such as brick blocks, wall of ice, prison of brambles) will no longer block a player's ability to retreat from a battle. All placable obstacles are now removed upon retreat.
   
3. Balance: Scribe now triggers on acknowledgment of the battle victory prompt instead of when exploration mode starts. This change enables the Scribe ability to now work in Survival Mode as well as within encounters that include multiple battles (such as the Sandpit Arena and Yellowjacket Nest). (Thanks Nabastag)
   
4. Fixed bug where Skeleton Bro could spawn on an adjacent trap and prevent the event from continuing. (Thanks Guest_284800)
   
5. Fixed bug where Fennec Fox could trigger a combo off its own attack when swapping position with an ally and using its triggered attack. (Thanks Provocation)
   
6. Fixed bug where Pied Pipe wasn't working in Survival Mode. (Thanks Nabastag)
   
7. Fixed bug where the language sub header in the Language selection menu on mobile reverted to "Language" after making a selection instead of the currently selected language. (Thanks AvalonAbalon)
   
8. Fixed bug where Frog Demon heart wasn't dealing its 2 damage to enemies upon its wielder being attacked. (Thanks BADASSMOFO 👻็👻็👻็ , Ivellios and Hess)
   
9. Fixed bug where units could sometimes get stuck in the mist of mayhem when retreating until exiting and restarting the game. (Thanks Trojan Bull and Sinthores)
   
10. Fixed bug where Wall of Ice was not removing after battle and when retreating. Existing Wall of Ice blocks left on board from previous adventure can now be attacked. (Thanks Lance and Lord Cameron)
    
11. Fixed bug where placing an obstacle (such as a Forest Energy tree) on the summoner's starting location within the Sandpit arena would break subsequent battles as the summoner attempts to return to their starting space. (Thanks KagitarShadowscale and Lifeisfree)
    
12. Fixed bug where the entrance to a battle area adjacent to a river could be blocked. If map with a battle borders a river and it isn't a boss fight, the procedural algorithm removes non-attackable terrain on that map that isn't in the playable area on the sides containing a river. (Thanks Ivellios)
    
13. Fixed bug where attacking a barrel with a Pyromancer fireball while an enemy is adjacent to it in the next map causes an exception for updateProjectile. (Thanks Guest_308587)
    
14. Fixed bug where attacking with an enemy that triggers a combo with a hydra and then selecting the attack again quickly could generate a null exception for handleAttackHit.
    
15. Fixed bug where AI turn time exhausted error would appear if minimizing the game on mobile while the AI is taking its turn for more than 2 minutes.
    
16. Fixed bug where using a Scroll of Resurrection while playing with the Lost Guardians challenge modifier (also Descent 5) would allow the resurrected guardian to revive an additional time at camp. (Thanks Manchot_Royal)
    
17. Fixed bug where removing equipment that increased max life would trigger surprise spells such as Celestial Shield and Reflect Damage. (Thanks Lord Cameron)
    
18. Fixed bug where using Animal Growth on yourself while transformed into a bat by Sassy Molassi, your Summoner is transformed into the mutated version of the anime, then back to your summoner, then back into the bat permanently, causing you to lose instead of being transformed back into your summoner when the bat is killed. Using Animal Growth will now transform you into the Mutant Bat successfully, but only until the end of battle. Also, transforming into a Mutant Bat removes the "until defeated" condition, meaning that if you die while in the form of the Mutant Bat, you will lose. (Thanks Xomnikai).
    
19. Fixed bug where, while in the form of the Sabertooth Tiger, drinking the beetle juice and transforming into a beetle returns you into your original form and throws a bug dialog. (Thanks muussi)
    
20. Fixed bug where, while in the form of a beetle from drinking the beetle juice and transforming into a Sabertooth tiger by Sassi Molassi, your original summoner joins the team along with the sabertooth tiger and a bug prompt may trigger. (Thanks Guest_206661)
    
21. Fixed bug where the Summoner would have a yellow reticle during battle (indicating that it is interactive) after clicking the Nemesis HUD icon until the Nemesis is defeated. (Thanks Arianna)
    
22. Fixed bug where shop music would briefly play then switch to the default biome music while exploring the shop while being chased by a nemesis instead of playing the shop music. (Thanks Arianna)
    
23. Fixed bug where player could not use the replay button to rewatch the AI's last turn if the AI's last turn was the first turn of the battle. (Thanks Arianna)
    
24. Fixed bug where game could soft-lock at camp when speaking with the shopkeeper. This was only reported to occur running at 30FPS and was caused by the animation queue getting clogged and often was preceded by a staccato hero movement (one tile at a time) and a camera following the hero (which should never happen at camp). This change may have also fixed characters leaving the camp while still holding their marshmallows. (Thanks Lance)
    
25. Fixed bug where AI sync error could occur when additional enemies are called to the battle for encounters like Viking Vanguard if trap tiles on the board had changed status during the battle. (Thanks Guest_306412)
    
26. Fixed bug where AI Sync error could occur in multiplayer coop when an AI player is defeated on its own turn. (Thanks ♂Van Darkholme♂)
    
27. Fixed bug where AI Sync error could be generated on Catch of the Day if a controlled Marauder is defeated by a Marauder Retiarius, resulting in the AI believing that the restoration of the net is its own cause. This should also fix any other sync errors caused by triggered actions being their own cause within the AI simulator. (Thanks Guest_309018)
    
28. Fixed bug where inspecting equipment while waiting for the next round of battle in the Sandpit arena or entering a new battle would throw an exception. Also, if inspecting equipment on a unit while transitioning into a new battle, the unequip button will now disable to prevent potential de-syncs between the prior game state and new battle. (Thanks Garylove00)
    
29. Fixed bug where resizing the screen while editing a Summoner's starting deck would throw a series of errors that required the game to be restarted. (Thanks Guest_306026)
    
30. Fixed bug where it was still possible to stuck on shopkeeper by double clicking on the tile just above where the shopkeeper spawns when entering the mist of mayhem. (Thanks Arianna)
    
31. Fixed bug where Bigbeard had an extra Knockback (1) listed on his card. (Thanks Anotnio)
    
32. Fixed bug where loaded dice item is removed from inventory if you equip and un-equip regardless of if there is an active encounter. (Thanks Nabastag)
    
33. Fixed bug where null pointer exception could occur in the showUI method of the battleHUD when saving game settings by explicitly checking each of the properties and the isDisposed state. Also, removed unnecessary call to showUI in the updateHUD method. (Thanks pandaboy)
    
34. Fixed bug where player could get Error 1009 mouseMoveHandler() by checking all possible references and adding conditionals.
    
35. Fixed bug where exception could be thrown in the tint() method of UnitViews when transitioning out of battle.
    
36. Fixed bug where player could get a null exception while dragging cards.
    
37. Fixed bug where Error #3768 is thrown on iOS devices when attempting to set the toggle state of a DynamicLabelButton while the app is deactivated. This primarily occurred when setting the toggle state for the DevMessageService.
    
38. Fixed bug where Error #3768 is thrown on iOS devices when attempting to rasterize DynamicTextBlock while the app is deactivated. This primarily occurred when receiving Leaderboard results.
    
39. Fixed bug where Error #3768 occurred on iOS if attempting to rasterize a StoreImage while the app is in the background.
    
40. Localization: Changed Simplified and Traditional Chinese translations of Petrify from 惊恐 and 驚恐 to 石化. (Thanks jack)
    
41. Localization: Fixed translations in all languages for the Shatter spell that were broken in v2.84.3. (Thanks jack)
    
42. Localization: Added Simplified and Traditional Chinese translations of the Celestial spell "Purify". (Thanks jack)
    
43. Localization: Added translations in all languages for "Deck at max size" message. (Thanks jack)
    
44. Localization: Fixed Japanese translation of Hellfire Candle. (Thanks Guest_8084)
    
45. Localization: Fixed several more missing/incorrect Polish translations. (Thanks Ivellios)
    
46. Localization: Fixed translation of the Elixir of Eternal life to correctly specify that a bad roll now transforms you into a Skeleton instead of dealing 20 damage. (Thanks Ivellios)
    
47. Technical: For mobile devices, I now pause the persistent world clock in addition to the main game loop clock so that no animations play while the app is minimized (deactivated) to help prevent errors that might arise from the app attempting to animate while in the background.
    
48. Technical: Made some adjustments to the rasterization code to help improve memory and garbage collection and identify potential causes for failed texture loading errors.
    
49. Technical: Made optimizations to the AI Sync error code to further identify causes of any further/future potential AI sync related issues.
    
50. Gold Star: Congratulations, you made it to the end of the list! :)
    

Many of our players have asked me for a way to help support the continued development of Abalon, so I setup a "Buy Me a Coffee" page where you can make one-time or recurring contributions.

[h2]Reviews[/h2]
We've successfully hit part 1 of my year-end goal for Abalon: 500+ reviews! Thank you all so much :)

Part 2: Can we make it to "Overwhelmingly Positive"? As of today, we're at 94%. We need just 1% more to make it to 95% and hit this goal! I'd greatly appreciate your help to write a Steam review. Let me know what you like about the game and also where I can continue to improve for you. If I've addressed your feedback, please update your review. You can also leave me feedback directly in game via Menu -> Share Feedback. I personally read and do my best to reply back to every single player request.

Thank you so much for your thoughtfulness and ongoing support :)

~Ross

I hope you enjoyed our Spooktacular Double XP event for Halloween! Special congrats to all those who cleared Survival mode and for those that cleared wave 40... wow, superb job!

As always, I appreciate your kind words, reviews, suggestions and bug reports. I've added several more requested QoL updates, balance changes and bug fixes in this update.


Players in our Discord have asked about the status of our next major update and future expansions and I decided to share my responses here as well for the benefit of everyone.

Tarquin McFluffy: Hi Ross, when are you planning to release the next major update? I'm too excited and cannot wait!

RossD20Studios: Excellent question... Seeing as I missed the window for the Roguelike/Screamfest (which would have been optimal opportunity), I'm still rethinking this and I haven't decided yet. Major updates are quite tricky because in order to make the most impact with them, I have to consider more factors than just when they are ready for release. Generally, I like to coincide major releases with opportunities like a combination visibility round + sale + Steam event. I also look at whether the current build and server highly stable and generally ready for a huge influx of activity. And the longer I delay a release, do I feel the content/features I've created are still worthy of the hype or does it need more? It's a constant push/pull between a bunch of spinning plates and also remaining active/diligent providing good customer service along the journey.

Kaaz: Is Caves being saved for Christmas? Or different holiday?

RossD20Studios: Most likely early 2026 for that one. I need to release the major update first (or possibly in conjunction with the DLC could be a nice way to boost everything together...)
For Steam holiday sale/Christmas I'm planning to host another Double XP event. It's also possible I might break up some of the major update features into smaller incremental updates and then bundle the rest with a larger major update + DLC release.

Currently I'm seeing a lot of timeout reports on Android with regards to the AI processing, so I'm considering shifting some development focus to improving that, which also contributes to the Abalon Arena development.

Both caves and the final boss have a lot of hype around them... and I tend to judge myself a lot harder when it comes to the creative/thematic type stuff over features. Features are much easier - they do what they do, it's a pass/fail, whereas new content is so much more subjective. I'm constantly beating myself up and asking how the new content can top/add something different to the types of stuff already done.

Hope that helps provide some insight on where I'm currently at! Game development is never an exact science and sometimes it's necessary to pivot my work to address other areas of the game (like the AI engine in this case) in order to provide players with the best experience.

1. QoL: Improved the card sorting algorithm for "Group by Type" so that Artifacts are grouped together with other equippable satchel cards. This way, your consumables and your equippable cards are kept separate. (Thanks sanasarus)
   
2. QoL: When continuing an adventure cross-platform on a device that does not have DLC entitlements, cards within DLC sets found through prior progress in the adventure on a device with entitlements will no longer show as grayed out within the deck and will no longer vanish from the tortoise collection when removed from the deck. This ensures that all cards found throughout the adventure are usable regardless of platform and entitlements. Platform entitlements are still required to play/continue adventures as a Summoner in DLC card sets and to start new adventures with custom decks containing DLC cards. (Thanks Provocation and Ivellios)
   
3. QoL: Changed wording of effects that reduce the cost of cards from "spells cost less" to "cards cost less" to clarify that all cards (units and spells) benefit from the effect, not just spell cards. (Thanks Sinzar)
   
4. QoL: Tips prompts will now show when loading back a game and replaying commands.
   
5. QoL: The NPC Vampire Witch in the Fortune Teller encounter of Harvest world now has a name, Sassy Molassi. (Thanks HiddenHearth, Kaaz, Xomnikai and Lance)
   
6. Balance: Bat's card text now appropriately reads "Inflict: Gain +0/+1" and functions mechanically like other Inflict abilities. (Thanks Provocation)
   
7. Balance: Summoner Gear can no longer be unequipped during battle.
   
8. Balance: Artifacts can no longer be equipped if the character has used their action. Consumable items, like Healing potion Phylactery Potion, can always be used/equipped. (Thanks Vortex)
   
9. Balance: Card Pickups are now treated as non-undoable actions because they reveal hidden information about the card reward that will be given.
   
10. Balance: Actions that would regularly be considered non-undoable are now allowed to undo if the commanded interaction results in triggering multiple prompts. For example, if you command a character to walk over two satchel card pickups in the same action (each of which would generate a hidden card reward), you can now undo back to the initial card pickup after choosing the first satchel's reward and seeing the options presented as rewards in the second satchel pickup. Note that you cannot undo past the initial command once you've commanded your unit to pickup and reveal hidden card rewards.
    
11. Balance: Being afflicted by the Silence spell will no longer prevent player from using satchel cards. (Thanks Kazbad)
    
12. Fixed bug where tooltip could become stuck on the display if mousing over a button or hud element that vanishes during the transition from explore to battle or battle to explore. (Thanks Wesley)
    
13. Fixed bug where buying satchel cards from the Traveling Merchant wasn't encountering them, thus enabling the possibility of finding artifacts (which should be unique) subsequent times in the adventure. (Thanks HiddenHearth)
    
14. Fixed bug where selling a satchel card did not unfind it for purposes of discovering it again (if an artifact) in future chapters.
    
15. Fixed bug where the Lost Guardians challenge modifier wasn't triggering properly if the guardian dies while controlled by the enemy. (Thanks Guest_288190)
    
16. Fixed bug where Radiant Amethyst or Hellfire Candle could be repeatedly equipped and unequipped to endlessly stack their mana cost discount. (Thanks Vortex)
    
17. Fixed bug where scouting encounters that include a "Flee immediately" option (such as Bandit Blockade, Goblin Party, Catch of the Day, Ambush and so forth) would not reveal the icon and description of these encounters on the world map after visiting and leaving. (Thanks Scribe)
    
18. Fixed bug where Orc Army encounter included Orc Warriors with unequippable spears. (Thanks Provocation)
    
19. Fixed bug where, after freeing the hellhound puppy and tripping the alarm to alert the nemesis, the "Continue" button did not result in the puppy joining team. (Thanks Kazbad and Fabomatik)
    
20. Fixed bug where after using Demolish to destroy a spiked block in dungeon, an abyss tile appears in its place instead of dungeon tile. (Thanks HiddenHearth)
    
21. Fixed bug where exiting the game mid-battle and then returning to finish it later could result in the end turn button not functioning until undoing an action. (Thanks Garylove00, Clovis la Britannia, and latitat)
    
22. Fixed bug where Arcane Insight could draw double cards.
    
23. Fixed bug where helping to heal the injured fallen angel did not unlock the Guardian Angel satchel card in player collection. (Thanks Bobby)
    
24. Fixed bug where walking over multiple satchel cards and exiting without choosing a card or hitting the replay button during the second satchel pickup would result in a stuck game state. The choose card prompt will now properly display when returning back to the game for any cards that were not selected. (Thanks Guest_299992)
    
25. Fixed bug where entering a new encounter that generates a prompt soft-locks the game instead of displaying the prompt until exiting/restarting the game. I believe this issue may have been caused by a rare game state where an animation thread is created but never started. This change ensures that any new animations are placed on the existing, unstarted animation thread. (Thanks Lance)
    
26. Fixed bug where a Suspicious Tomb with the Buried Alive fate encounter failed to do anything after being opened because there were no valid guardians left to spawn (due to the starting guardians and Mercenary Den using up all the slots). The encounter will now spawn animals and elementals if there are insufficient human guardians to bury in the tomb. (Thanks HiddenHearth)
    
27. Fixed bug where the Replay Tutorial option generated a prompt that could remove the current in-game prompt from the screen by embedding the choice to play the tutorial directly into the settings menu.
    
28. Fixed bug where right-clicking on cards in the deck builder could result in them getting temporarily stuck to the display.
    
29. Fixed bug where it possible to right click on units and tiles in the grid while in the deckbuilder screen.
    
30. Fixed bug where clicking an equipment intended for animals (saddle bag) without an animal then clicking on another regular equipment (helmet) will cancel the attempt to equip the regular equipment. (Thanks Plykiya)
    
31. Fixed bug where a unit equipped with a Woodcutter axe would attempt to pick up any objects on a tile containing an enemy instead of melee attacking the enemy. (Thanks Davsilog)
    
32. Fixed bug where buying out a shopkeeper and getting the Early Retirement achievement could result in having [Skin] Nothing and other cards associated with the shopkeeper's outfit added to the satchel. (Thanks Anotnio)
    
33. Fixed bug where new cards picked up during combat were not getting the mana cost reduction from special abilities that grant discounts such as the Radiant Amethyst or Preserver's insect card discount. (Thanks Sinzar and Kazbad)
    
34. Fixed bug where the lower HUD containing spell cards was being shifted upwards instead of flush with bottom of the screen on some Windows 1080P monitors due to the safeArea being reported incorrectly.
    
35. Fixed bug where player could receive an extra key if playing in the desert biome that contained an Alchemy fate encounter. (Thanks SHAWSHANKER)
    
36. Fixed bug where equipment skins (like Goblin Party hats and Chronomancer Hat) could be removed after ending battle.
    
37. Fixed bug with Russian translation for Horse with No Name (Thanks ZimA)
    
38. Fixed bug with Polish translation (and other languages) for Wave counter in survival mode. (Thanks Ivellios)
    
39. Fixed bug with incorrect Simplified Chinese translation for Raise Dead and missing translation for Metamorphic Harness. (Thanks jack)
    
40. Fixed bug with missing translation for Cleanse spell. (Thanks jack)
    
41. Fixed bug where cultists weren't spawning on the Demon Dance encounter for novice difficulty if not playing on Chapter 1. (Thanks Arianna)
    
42. Fixed bug where cultists might not spawn if retreating from a Demon Dance battle and then returning. (Thanks Arianna)
    
43. QoL: Changed Russian translation of the Yeti's Bonus action ability (Bonus action to closest enemy at the start of its turn.) from "Бонусное действие ближайшему противнику в начале его хода" to "Атакует ближайшего врага бонусным действием в начале его хода." (Thanks Ole-gan, and Kairin)
    
44. Fixed bug where Take em Down with a Combo Trip Prompt showed when attacking an object while exploring if the player had just retreated from a battle on their turn. (Thanks Arianna)
    

Many of our players have asked me for a way to help support the continued development of Abalon, so I setup a "Buy Me a Coffee" page where you can make one-time or recurring contributions.

[h2]Reviews[/h2]
We've successfully hit part 1 of my year-end goal for Abalon: 500+ reviews! Thank you all so much :)

Part 2: Can we make it to "Overwhelmingly Positive"? As of today, we're at 94%. We need just 1% more to make it to 95% and hit this goal! I'd greatly appreciate your help to write a Steam review. Let me know what you like about the game and also where I can continue to improve for you. If I've addressed your feedback, please update your review. You can also leave me feedback directly in game via Menu -> Share Feedback. I personally read and do my best to reply back to every single player request.

Thank you so much for your thoughtfulness and ongoing support :)

~Ross