Last Train Outta' Wormtown News

[h3]Changes to the Beta Branch:[/h3]

[h2]Pardner Cosmetic Save Slots:[/h2]
There are now 5 save slots for Pardner cosmetics. They will appear on the main page of the Pardner customization menu.
This required a rewrite of how the cosmetics were saved, and when you launch the game, you should see a default Pardner - but don’t worry: There’s an additional button on the save slot sidebar to load your Pardner from the previous save system!
Additionally, the Pardner cosmetics will now sync to the Steam Cloud.

[h2]New Worm Ability Icons and UI Polish:[/h2]
The very placeholder ability icons have been replaced with finalized art! I’ve also added some additional visual polish to the Worm Ability HUD.

[h2]Guidebook Changes:[/h2]
I’ve added additional pages, images, and content to the Guidebook, including pages for the basics mechanics of Pardners, Worms, and general gameplay.

[h2]Cymbal Monkey Changes:[/h2]
- Increased the Cymbal Monkey Worm stun duration from 10 seconds to 12.
- Worms under the effect of the Cymbal Monkey stun now have their camera controls reversed for the duration.
- Added particle effects above the Worm’s head while they are stunned.

[h2]Bile Bomb Changes:[/h2]
- You can no longer fire a Bile Bomb when something is in your mouth.
- Fixed Bile Bombs firing below the ground when aiming downward.

[h2]Armored Carapace Changes:[/h2]
- You can no longer cast Armored Carapace when something is in your mouth. (You can still use the ability before grabbing something, just not while something is in your mouth. This should fix an overly strong strategy of Worms reacting to accidentally eating dynamite by armoring immediately.)


[h2]Misc. Changes:[/h2]
- The Jump you do when completing a mini-game no longer takes stamina.
- Worms no longer see cactus seeds being held in Pardner hands. (When they are aiming to throw the cactus seed).
- Pardner “Equipment” has been renamed to Pardner “Kit”, as typing “equipped equipment” felt silly.


The beta has been fantastic so far in gaining valuable feedback and fixing balance issues and bugs. Thanks to everyone who's been playing! I feel like the majority of the issues have been ironed out and hope to have the beta branch pushed to the main version soon! (I'm aiming for sometime next week, but it's always scary giving an exact time frame!)

Stay Safe out there, Pardner!

To Access the Beta Branch:
Right-click Wormtown in your Steam library -> Properties -> Betas, and select "public beta" from the dropdown list.
Discord.gg/Wormtown

[h3]Changes for the Beta Branch:[/h3]

[h3]Worm Ability Balancing[/h3]
Bile Bomb:
- Radius Increased to 10 units (was 8).
- Detonation time reduced to 3.3 seconds (was 4 seconds).

Scorching Sands:
- Damage per second increased to 3 (was 2).

Escape Balloon Changes:
- Once the Balloon has flown into the map, if a Pardner gets revived, the Balloon will lift up the ladder and fly to the center of the map. When there is only 1 Pardner remaining again, the Balloon will pick a new landing spot and move there. (No more Pardners camping the Balloon ladder, waiting for their buddies to get eaten!)
- Added a toggle in the match settings to disable the Escape Balloon.

Misc Changes:
- Moved the new pickup item information HUD display. It is now centered above your Pardner.
- Added map boundaries for ghosts.

Bug Fixes:
- Fixed issues with zipline velocity and ladders.
- Fixed an exploit where you could get unlimited uses of an Equipment item.



To Access the Beta Branch:
Right-click Wormtown in your Steam library -> Properties -> Betas, and select "public beta" from the dropdown list.
Discord.gg/Wormtown

[h3]Changes for the Beta Branch:[/h3]

Added the Adrenaline status effect:
Adrenaline grants 50% damage reduction and 100% stamina reduction. Lasts 10 seconds. Whenever a Pardner escapes a Worm mouth, they gain Adrenaline.

Design insight: This should fix two problems, One being Pardners with very low health (and thus low stamina) not being able to reach a safe spot before the Worm heals, and the damage reduction nerfs some Worm ability combos like placing a Bilebomb right when a Pardner escapes their mouth. The Bilebomb combo does take some guess work and prediction, and it’s an intended strategy, but Adrenaline should make it feel less punishing and cheap for the Pardners.

New Pickup Information Display: Instead of the panel that pops up above the object you’re looking at, the information will instead display on the right side of the screen. This will also indicate if an item is an Equipment or Objective item (aka, the Train Key).

[h3]Misc Changes:[/h3]
- Added custom death event messages to the Worm abilities.
- Removed all status effects and their particles when a Pardner dies.
- Made the Church hill smaller.
- Previously, Pardners that climbed too high would lose all of their grip immediately. As an unintended side effect, this also was happening when climbing the top of the church. This “grip loss” has been completely removed, and new colliders have been added to the red rock walls to handle it now.
- Backpacks and Equipment items have a dithering effect when playing as Worm, so they will no longer block your vision when gobbling a Pardner with them equipped.

[h3]Bug Fixes:[/h3]
- Fixed multiple control prompts shown when holding a usable item and having usable equipment (Items take priority in these situations).
- You can no longer take items out of your inventory while in a mini game (Worm mouth or Sand Trap).
- Fixed building destruction getting de-synced (for real this time!)
- Fixed the Worm being able to grab objects and Pardners through walls.


To Access the Beta Branch:
Right-click Wormtown in your Steam library -> Properties -> Betas, and select "public beta" from the dropdown list.
Discord.gg/Wormtown

[h2]Changes to the Beta Branch:[/h2]


[h3]Pardner Status Effects:[/h3] Added a new status effect system for Pardners to help balance and add fun new interactions. These status effects are visible by particle effects directly on your Pardner character. This opens up a whole lot of creative options for various effects in the future!
Status Effects:
- Tar Wall Slow: Touching a Tar Wall will slow your Pardner by 50% for 5 seconds.
- Scorching Sands Burn: Scorching Sands now adds a “burn” status effect to the Pardner touching the sand. This effect deals 2 damage per second, and lasts for 1.5 seconds. The status effect gets reset when touching the sand. (The previous damage was 5 per second, and jump spamming would essentially mitigate nearly all of the damage. This new status effect version will guarantee at least 3 damage every time you touch the sand, but overall the damage has been nerfed.)


[h3]Sandstorm + Scorching Sands combo ability balancing:[/h3]
Sandstorm Changes:
- Reduced wind push force while airborne. This should make it much easier to get off of the sand during the storm.
Scorching Sands Changes:
- Time between the Worm using the ability and the sands starting to heat has been increased to 3 seconds. (was 2 seconds)
- The sand must be fully red before damaging Pardners.

[h3]Camera Fixes:[/h3]
There’s been annoying quirks and issues with the camera (especially the over-the-shoulder Pardner view) for a while now. Multiple camera changes are included in this patch to hopefully resolve the lingering issues.

[h3]Bug fixes:[/h3]
- Fixed not resetting additional zipline momentum when grabbing a wall.
- Fixed issue where Pardners would occasionally stay holding onto a ladder that was moved.

[h3]Misc changes:[/h3]
- Reduced the intensity of the “taking damage” screen effects.
- Added event feed messages for Pardners dying to Bile bomb, Scorching Sands, and Body Slam.
- Lantern material is now bright and fancy
- Added the new Tar Wall and Scorching Sands changes to the Guidebook

Thanks for all the great feedback on the new beta updates! It's been vital in getting the new content ready for the main branch soon!

- Vyv

To Access the Beta Branch:
Right-click Wormtown in your Steam library -> Properties -> Betas, and select "public beta" from the dropdown list.
Discord.gg/Wormtown

Changes/Tweaks/Fixes for the Beta Branch:

Changes:

Tar Wall Rework:
- Now spawns a ring of tar around the Worm, instead of in a line in front of them.
- Drastically increased size of tar spikes.
- Added dithering effect on the tar spikes for the Worm only, so you can see through them at close range. (Also means you can hide inside of a tar spike and leap out onto an unsuspecting Pardner.)

- Sandtraps will now be destroyed if any part of their radius is in a Dynamite explosion. (Before it had to be the center of the trap)
- Added the Sandtrap/Dynamite interaction to the Guidebook.


Fixes:
- Fixed ragdolls having equipment items still on their body.
- You’ll now fall off of ziplines if the zipline post has moved since grabbing it. (No more flying through the air on an invisible zipline!)
- Fixed issues when grabbing a wall and climbing a ladder at the same time.
- Can now jump from a ladder to another ladder (previously, you wouldn’t grab the second ladder).
- Fixed issues when “burrowing” while using the Body Slam ability. You now burrow and cause the Slam effect when passing through the ground.


Have a great weekend, Pardner!
- Vyv


To Access the Beta Branch:
Right-click Wormtown in your Steam library -> Properties -> Betas, and select "public beta" from the dropdown list.
Discord.gg/Wormtown