Superstar Strategy Demo - Next Fest Update

[p]Hey there! We’re entering the home stretch on development for Superstar Strategy, and to celebrate, here’s a new patch before we go live into Steam Next Fest! Check out the changes below, and remember to play the demo! This will be the last major demo update before release. Stay tuned for an announcement on when you can expect to play the FULL RELEASE later this year![/p][p][/p][h2]New Features[/h2]

• [p]New Villager portraits. Adjusted how villager portraits are displayed to reduce duplicate portraits being shown in the same mission.[/p]
• [p]New animations and polish for various skills.[/p]
• [p]New contextual info when selecting invalid units in-game.[/p]
• [p]Progress indicator for Campaign Progress in the Main Menu.[/p]

[h2]Balance Changes[/h2][h3]Player Units[/h3]

• [p]Rogue[/p]
  • [p]Assassinate command skill now a Free Action.[/p]
• [p]Vampire[/p]
  • [p]Reduced cost of Shadow Step command skill to 2CP.[/p]
• [p]Mage[/p]
  • [p]Spikecicles now can be cast at Range \[0,2], no longer castable at melee range \[1].[/p]
• [p]Sorceress[/p]
  • [p]Contagion[/p]
    • [p]Now can copy negative statuses applied to SELF and ALLIES to enemies, not just from enemy to enemy.[/p]

[h3]NPCs[/h3]

• [p]Units that lay traps now prioritize placing traps under unexhausted units before placing them on top of entities or random spaces.[/p]
• [p]Archers[/p]
  • [p]No longer cast Poison Arrow.[/p]
  • [p]Are now less likely to consistently place traps when they could have attacked an enemy in range.[/p]
• [p]Poacher[/p]
  • [p]Can now cast Poison Arrow[/p]
• [p]Witch[/p]
  • [p]Reduced NPC Witch ATK[/p]
  • [p]Increases Player Witch HP+AMR[/p]
• [p]Kobold[/p]
  • [p]Can no longer use Drag.[/p]
  • [p]Can now use Aggressive/Defensive stance.[/p]
• [p]Pugilist[/p]
  • [p]Can now use Meditate to cleanse statuses[/p]
• [p]Champion[/p]
  • [p]Can now use Fortify[/p]
• [p]Marauer[/p]
  • [p]Can now use Guillotine[/p]
• [p]Soldier[/p]
  • [p]Can now use Fortify[/p]
• [p]Piker[/p]
  • [p]Can now use Fortify[/p]
  • [p]Player-controlled unit can now use Venom[/p]

[h3]Misc[/h3]

• [p]Recruitable Units should always start with Player Statlines and never NPC statlines[/p]

[h2]Rework + Polish[/h2]

• [p]Adjusted intro screen animation.[/p]
• [p]Adjustments to the HUD to make it less busy. Objectives are now shown as icons next to the Round counter window in the top-left. You can re-enable the expanded view in the Options menu.[/p]
• [p]Rewrite the particle system to a custom implementation to improve performance.[/p]
• [p]Redrew some unit portraits and made adjustments to others.[/p]
• [p]Adjusted display of Rogue Steal and Trade menus to make it more obvious what’s being given/taken.[/p]
• [p]Added new particle effects during Combat to show healing effects (e.g. with Mettle, Drain, Guillotine or Execute).[/p]
• [p]Replaced Lucky Clover item with Lucky Die. This is just an aesthetic change.[/p]
• [p]Adjusted visuals of Loading Screens, System prompts and Start of Round notifications.[/p]

[h2]Quality of Life Changes[/h2]

• [p]Adjusted how the rotary menu behaves when using a thumbstick to reduce risk of double-moving or counter-moving, causing the menu controls to feel finnicky.[/p]
• [p]Improved performance of just about every system in the game.[/p]
• [p]Allow the ability to pause and exit a mission from the drafting screen.[/p]
• [p]Added hazard notifications when using a Launchpad or Booster to land on a trap tile when opening the action menu.[/p]

[h2]Bugfixes[/h2]

• [p]Far too many to list out here, but please report any new ones you find![/p]

[h2]Misc[/h2]

• [p]Renamed “Context” menu to “Interact”[/p]
• [p]Adjusted font and display of New Round and Victory transition banners.[/p]

[p]For updates on game development progress and to join the community, consider following me on BlueSky and joining the Talberon Games Discord Server. Don’t forget to Wishlist the game on Steam if you haven’t already![/p]