Beastieball News

% = Changed in patch on 09/05 @ = Changed in patch on 09/01 # = Changed in patch on 08/28 & = Changed in patch on 08/27 ^ = Changed in patch on 08/26 * = Changed in quick patch on the same day

*This experimental update is currently built using a new version of our game engine, GameMaker. This engine update has allowed us to greatly optimize the game's texture usage, meaning a big boost to framerate AND a big reduction in memory usage, meaning fewer unexpected crashes during long sessions. This engine update also means anything in the game may be ever-so-slightly different in ways we can't anticipate, so we'll be looking for bug reports related to this!

After our pause on balance updates, the next one is (finally?!) on its way! By allowing for more time between changes, we were able to collect a lot more data and see more clearly how different Beasties stacked up; it also helped us to identify more subtle underlying problems that only became clear after sifting through the noise.

We welcome your thoughts, your feedback, and your playtesting! I encourage dedicated coaches to join us in our Discord community to discuss these changes live with other players. Please note these changes are currently live on PC only for now.

This past weekend there was a BIGMOON BASH, where Beasties got fired up to play and coaches around the world could challenge each other for a limited time!

During this Bash we banned the Beasties who got the most community complaints, resulting in a perfectly fair and balanced bash beloved by everyone. Let's see who fared the best in this new mini-meta!

[h2]👑 Top-Scoring Players[/h2]

1. Satoros (The Diamond Ducks) | Bash Score: 3120
2. Bolimar (The Crimson Angels) | Bash Score: 3052
3. Parranah Phi (The Cosmic Friends) | Bash Score: 3036
4. Arc Tech (The Arcane Machines) | Bash Score: 3024
5. Kaz (The Raging Blazes) | Bash Score: 2996
6. Zonk (The Exploding Enigmas) | Bash Score: 2972
7. Darc Tech (The Arcane Robots) | Bash Score: 2892
8. Rosery (The Roaring Knights) | Bash Score: 2860
9. Boolerex (The Big Flowers) | Bash Score: 2832
10. Charge (The Crimson Kings) | Bash Score: 2828
11. Theta (The Cosmic Cryptids) | Bash Score: 2796
12. Sabrewoif (The Diamond Dinosaurs) | Bash Score: 2744
13. Kyyg (The Wacky Worms) | Bash Score: 2736
14. Stardust (The Starbound Dinosaurs) | Bash Score: 2728
15. HP (The Jolly Jokers) | Bash Score: 2684
16. Ket (The Stellar Scoundrels) | Bash Score: 2680
17. Byrd (The Garbage Guardians) | Bash Score: 2644
18. Pix (The Galaxy Drums) | Bash Score: 2632
19. Dino (The Wrong Anglers) | Bash Score: 2608
20. Astra (The Tiny Girls) | Bash Score: 2568
21. Kaybee (The Shining Wings) | Bash Score: 2556

Congratulations to the top-scoring players!

The median Bash Score this time was 1888.

[h2]📊 Beastie Usage Stats![/h2]
As has become tradition, we've collected a ton of data on Beastie usage during this event and we're happy to share that data with you for further investigation! This time it's extra fun to see which Beasties got to shine while some of the biggest public enemies were in jail.
[h3]> Check out the STATS here![/h3]

Bandicraft and Bongus being near the top of usage is par for the course - but we didn't expect to see such a meteoric rise for off-brand Beasties like Zefyre and Kaleidarn! Since the bans this Bash included staple spirit attackers Hopra and Surgus, maybe more players felt forced to use Zefyre as their "Surgus at home." Zefyre appeared even more often in the top 50% of players' teams, so it must have been an effective substitution!

[h2]🔧 Incoming Balance Changes![/h2]
Hours from now, we'll be uploading a new PC build to the experimental branch alongside a pretty huge balance patch to test out. We're eagerly looking forward to your feedback on our new changes and ideas. We think we might be able to make it all work without deleting any Beasties!

[h2]🙇 Thank you!!![/h2]

Another BIGMOON BASH is beginning soon in Beastieball! During Bigmoon Bashes, coaches can challenge each other in open matchmaking for a limited time. During the event you'll have a Bash Rank, which will improve based on your performance. After it's over, you'll receive in-game rewards based on your participation, such as Social Battery and Sports Points.

When: August 23, 2025 00:00 UTC to August 25, 2025 00:00 UTC (equivalent to Friday, August 22 @ 4PM PST to Sunday, August 24 @ 4PM PST) BANNED Beasties: Riplash, Maraptor, Albrax, Hopra and Surgus!

Players of all skill level are invited! All you need to do to participate is to play the game on that day and join the Bash on SportNet! SportNet is typically unlocked within the first 2 hours of your adventure, after beating your first Ranked boss. And if you aren't confident in your own Beastie team, you can use a randomly generated one instead - just go to Team Setup and set "Random Team" as your current team.

[h3]Official Game Rules:[/h3]

• First to 2 Points wins
  
• Standard time limit on move selection
  
• No Undos allowed
  
• No duplicate Beastie species allowed
  
• Relationship Combos are disabled
  
• All Beasties are set to Level 50
  

[h3]Why are THESE Beasties in jail?[/h3]
During the previous Bash, we ran a bit of a science experiment. We captured the public discussion we could find in Beastieball-focused spaces over the course of the Bash and then ran an algorithm on it to count how many messages were sent about each Beastie specie. This also accounted for nicknames and lingo, like saying "shark" or "sharp" to refer to Riplash. Here are the results of that!

As you can see, we've simply jailed the 5 most-discussed Beasties. (Something fun to note: although fewer individual messages were sent that mentioned Albrax, the total wordcount of those messages was the highest of the bunch by far. Albrax seems to draw more long-form essay-like complaints than other Beasties!) 🤓

With this rule in effect, we're confident there will be no more complaints about PvP balance in Beastieball. We look forward to the calm discussion that is sure to emerge from this upcoming, perfectly calibrated Bigmoon Bash.

[h3]I still have complaints about balance![/h3]
I don't see how that's possible, but if it makes you feel any better, we're well underway on a large balance patch which will be coming to the game soon! After this Bash is over, we'll begin testing the new changes in the Experimental branch, so please look forward to that update.

* = Fixed in hot patch on 08/12
This is another smaller monthly update fixing a few issues and adding a few small requested features.

We're currently quite far along on developing major features, content, animations and major game balance changes for our next milestone update which we anticipate shipping next month, in September. We aim to have some things to test in the Experimental branch before the end of this month in advance of that... so stay tuned! :)

For now, please enjoy these few new little things.

• After completing the main story, when highlighting the icon for a Ranked boss who can be rematched, the day that they are available for rematches is now displayed.
  
• An audience is now generated in the stands for online matches and replays. The characters that appear will vary based on your progress in the main story and in the Contacts menu.
  
• Raremorph Humflit has unique geographic-based logic for determining what form it takes when it metamorphs; the valid region for one of these forms has been extended to include Garcinia Meadow, an area that can be visited before completing the main story.
  

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• Fixed several issues with paused and resumed post-game challenges, particularly around the Tower Tourney and Super Tower Tourney which could lead to Super Tower runs being mistaken for regular Tower, and saved teams sometimes not loading correctly
  
• Fixed a few issues with the schedule and story flags for post-game boss rematches that prevented some players from rematching Riven, and also made the date checking logic occasionally inconsistent.
  
• Fixed an issue with titles unlocking after a certain post-game match which opened a menu that was obscured by a cutscene fade to black, making it appear as if the game had frozen
  
• Made it so Craig won't call you offering a certain reward item if the player has already collected it from him
  
• Adjusted a couple small level layout issues mostly leading to visual bugs
  
• Fixed an issue with how Beasties on Valerie's team are generated, specifically in how certain very obscure player choices can impact her team data.
  
• Slightly adjusted Beelb's level-up move learn order so that is is less likely to Exhaust itself when encountered in the wild
  
• Adjusted spacing on the stat box that pops up when a Beastie levels up
  
• Fixed a few typos (how are there still typos......)
  
• *Fixed broken ground collision on a few screens, including progress blocking issues in the Party Pirate stadium
• *Fixed broken story state flags in the questline for the Magic Moons
• *Adjusted a couple levels with bouncy mushrooms; some puzzles broke due to an unrelated physics fix/change

This past weekend there was a BIGMOON BASH, where Beasties got fired up to play and coaches around the world could challenge each other for a limited time!

This Bash was an "Open" format where any Beastie was allowed. In the past we've had major balance patches between open bashes, so each one has had a different meta. This time around we've been letting the meta sit and develop without updates to see where things settle. Let's take a look!

[h2]👑 Top-Scoring Players[/h2]

1. Scy (The World-class Tacos) | Bash Score: 2892
2. Score (The Jamming Ballers) | Bash Score: 2880
3. Dino (The Raging Tides) | Bash Score: 2868
4. Astra (The Tiny Girls) | Bash Score: 2860
5. • Bolimar (The Crimson Angels) | Bash Score: 2844
   • Parranah (The Cosmic Friends) | Bash Score: 2844
6. N/A
7. Kaz (The Raging Blazes) | Bash Score: 2840
8. Stardust (The Starbound Dinosaurs) | Bash Score: 2820
9. Zonk (The Exploding Enigmas) | Bash Score: 2788
10. AshleyETA (The Musical Girls) | Bash Score: 2772
11. Darc Tech (The Arcane Robots) | Bash Score: 2748
12. Boolerex (The Giant Flowers) | Bash Score: 2744
13. MochaTeehee (The Hello Fishes) | Bash Score: 2724
14. Arc Tech (The Arcane Machines) | Bash Score: 2680
15. Theta (The Cosmic Cryptids) | Bash Score: 2668
16. Knight (The Newborn Lights) | Bash Score: 2632
17. Mateobow (The Violet Waves) | Bash Score: 2576
18. • Kaybee (The Shining Wings) | Bash Score: 2572
    • NukFur (The Soggy Dreamers) | Bash Score: 2572
19. N/A
20. Mistle Thaw (The Wrong Squad) | Bash Score: 2536
21. Nalathni (The Tiny Dragons) | Bash Score: 2496

Congratulations to the top-scoring players! I see a few new names quite near the top of the list - very exciting to see new competitors rising up! Arc Tech is keeping me on my toes by scoring high with two accounts again, so once again I've added an extra user to the rankings here. I think the biggest upset here is The Raging Blazes scoring so high. Aren't they, like, the worst team? The Beastieball League will surely be launching an investigation into this dubious result.

The median Bash Score this time was 1876. A touch lower than the previous Bash again - likely because we have lots of new coaches still jumping in. A couple players reported scoring much-much lower than they expected this time around, in a way that appeared erroneous. We're still inspecting that issue to see if it is genuine and what steps we can take to make sure it doesn't reoccur.

[h2]📊 Beastie Usage Stats![/h2]
As has become tradition, we've collected a ton of data on Beastie usage during this event and we're happy to share that data with you for further investigation!
[h3]> Check out the STATS here![/h3]

With a regular tide of old players leaving and new players joining in, it can be hard to pick apart what is actually rising to the top at the highest level. Internally we maintain more metrics on different Beasties' performance, though. I mentioned in a past update that Beastie performance is overall more even than it's ever been and that stand-out performances are harder to see without more data; that's still true, although with a few Bashes of data we're now starting to see a few things pop up that are suspect for balance tweaks.

We have a number of ideas cooking in the background, but our plan for now is to hold back balance changes for a bit longer while we take some more time to refine our ideas. I know some players will be disappointed since we've set the precedent for balance changes coming very frequently. For the next Bash, we'll try a theme that may mix things up a little bit.

[h2]🙇 Thank you!!![/h2]