Marvel Puzzle Quest News

[h3]Ability: Gold Comet[/h3]
Color: Green
AP Cost: 6
Create 3 Charged tiles, then Nova goes Airborne for 3 turns.

(PASSIVE) When Nova goes Airborne and at the Start of her turn while Airborne, she deals 199 damage to the enemy team for each Charged tile on the board.

450: Deal 801 damage.
550: Deal 1732 damage.

Level 2: Deal 210 damage.

• 450: Deal 845 damage.
  
• 550: Deal 1829 damage.
  

Level 3: 221 damage.

• 450: Deal 890 damage.
  
• 550: Deal 1924 damage.
  

Level 4: Deal 243 damage.

• 450: Deal 979 damage.
  
• 550: Deal 2117 damage.
  

Level 5: Deal 287 damage.

• 450: Deal 1157 damage.
  
• 550: Deal 2501 damage.
  

[h3]Ability: Burn Bright[/h3]
Color: Red
AP Cost: 7
Deal 797 damage plus 266 for each Charged tile on the board.

(PASSIVE) At the Start of the battle, create 5 Charged tiles. At the Start of Nova’s turn, remove a random Charged tile. She deals 4.5% increased damage and takes 10% decreased damage for each Charged tile on the board, up to 5 tiles. 

450: Deal 3205 damage plus 1068 for each tile. Deal 4.5% increased damage.
550: Deal 6927 damage plus 2309 for each tile. Deal 4.5% increased damage.

Level 2: Deal 885 damage plus 296 for each tile. Deal 6.0% increased damage.

• 450: Deal 3561 damage plus 1187 for each tile. Deal 6.0% increased damage.
  
• 550: Deal 7696 damage plus 2565 for each tile. Deal 6.0% increased damage.
  

Level 3: Deal 974 damage plus 325 for each tile. Deal 8.0% increased damage.

• 450: Deal 3917 damage plus 1305 for each tile. Deal 8.0% increased damage.
  
• 550: Deal 8465 damage plus 2822 for each tile. Deal 8.0% increased damage.
  

Level 4: Deal 1107 damage plus 369 for each tile. Deal 11.0% increased damage.

• 450: Deal 4452 damage plus 1483 for each tile. Deal 11.0% increased damage.
  
• 550: Deal 9622 damage plus 3207 for each tile. Deal 11.0% increased damage.
  

Level 5: Deal 1417 damage plus 473 for each tile. Deal 17.0% increased damage.

• 450: Deal 5698 damage plus 1899 for each tile. Deal 17.0% increased damage.
  
• 550: Deal 12316 damage plus 4105 for each tile. Deal 17.0% increased damage.
  

[h3]Ability: Siphon Power[/h3]
Color: Black
AP Cost: 6
Convert up to 4 non-friendly tiles into Green or Red Charged tiles, destroying 1 random enemy AP for each basic tile converted.

(PASSIVE) Nova cannot be Stunned. Whenever an Ally causes a Charged tile to leave the board, deal 487 damage.

450: Deal 1959 damage.
550: Deal 4233 damage.

Level 2: Deal 531 damage.

• 450: Deal 2137 damage.
  
• 550: Deal 4618 damage.
  

Level 3: Deal 598 damage.

• 450: Deal 2404 damage.
  
• 550: Deal 5194 damage.
  

Level 4: Convert up to 5 tiles.

• 450: Convert up to 5 tiles.
  
• 550: Convert up to 5 tiles.
  

Level 5: Deal 709 damage.

• 450: Deal 2850 damage.
  
• 550: Deal 6159 damage.
  

At the point of this blog’s release, many of you have already experienced the Unity engine. A long-awaited and touted milestone in the life cycle of MPQ that we’ve been talking about for years now. We knew it was going to be a bumpy start and wanted to extend our apologies for the poor experience this has been for players. 

We also want to thank everyone for reporting issues that they’ve experienced while we work towards getting things in a more stable place. That stable place means a much more flexible framework for us to continue developing MPQ and most importantly, introducing new features and mechanics to the game. There’s still a ton of exciting possibilities under the Unity hood and we’re confident that this rocky start will be worth it in the future when we start talking about the exciting roadmap of MPQ.

Meanwhile, we really appreciate your patience as we work through this and want to address some of the questions you may have to understand why we decided to pull the trigger on Unity’s launch in its current state. 

Why was Unity released in this current state?
At the beginning of the year, we had to cut back on the live version of the game in order to get the Unity engine to the finish line. This shift was only supposed to take a few months, as the port was making steady progress at that time. However, it has recently created a scenario where sustaining development work on both engines has proved very difficult. This was compounded by the early release of Unity on Amazon and a tech stack with outdated or no longer supported infrastructure. We found ourselves forced into working on two full engines that required equal support vs a fully functional, pared-down old engine while getting Unity ready.

During this time, we also ran a closed beta that helped shape a playable version of Unity, but still had several bugs that needed further optimization. Ultimately, these bugs were identified and prioritized based on our risk tolerance to leave them in during our initial Unity launch or continue several more months of development struggles as mentioned earlier. 

After a few months of testing, we got the build into a stable enough state that would allow us to launch and we’d then start prioritizing pushing out hot fixes as soon as possible. This while also acknowledging that some of it wasn't perfect but needing to get overall development back into a space where we could support four platforms properly instead of essentially double that with two concurrent game engines. What we didn’t anticipate, however, is that some of these bugs which were found during our device and build testing before launch, became far more severe after launch than had been previously observed. And along with the new bugs that appeared after launch, the new engine has definitely started off rockier than we had expected.

Why haven’t you addressed beta or preexisting bugs?
The intent of this first Unity release is to be as close to a snapshot of the original game as possible. This required including all the pre-existing bugs, such as the broken Facebook refer-a-friend, bugged character abilities, and anything else that was part of the original game. Trying to fix things prior to importing into Unity would’ve been a versioning nightmare since the game would constantly be changing, and ensuring that fixes worked on both versions of the game would have doubled our time spent investigating, fixing, QAing, and releasing builds.

When can we expect some improvements to Unity so that it can “remain the same as the current live version”?
Our first order of business upon launch was to identify the impact of known bugs, issue hot fixes, and tackle any new bugs that had surfaced. Unfortunately, the impact of the known bugs is more than we had anticipated, and we’re still very much in the midst of trying to push out as many fixes as we can.

We’re also seeing issues such as account linking and worse than expected performance, which we’re actively working on addressing. Part of that stability will come this week via version R326 on all devices. This release aims to decrease and stabilize the frame rate to 60fps on PC and 30fps on mobile, which will greatly help resolve some performance issues. It also fixes a variant of the black loading screen and brings back the “back" button on Android devices. Most importantly, this release puts all platforms back to one release version instead of two.

What are our current priorities now?
Stability is our number one priority at the moment which encompasses a wide array of elements in the game. From laggy gameplay experiences to broken events, we now have our entire team prioritizing getting the game into a stable state where we can start releasing updates that weren’t previously feasible. Until then, here’s some visibility into some of the priorities we’re focusing on to allow us to start improving on the Unity experience in the immediate and near future.

• Bugs! Bugs! Bugs! We’re trying to put out as many bugs as we can so please keep an eye out for the latest release notes as more builds get deployed to improve all areas of MPQ, from alliance chat to UI improvements.
  
• Memory allocation to help performance on lower-spec devices. MPQ has historically been a low resource-intensive game, but with Unity, there are more resource requirements that we’re working to optimize to minimize the negative impact on less powerful devices.
  
• Improved frame rate for less jittering. This also potentially helps improve performance and battery drain on mobile devices. We’ll look to implement an option to select frame rates in the future, but this change should help fix the immediate issues we’re seeing.
  
• Smoother screen transitions, which include some animation improvements causing motion sickness in some players. 
  
• Improvements to asset streaming to decrease load times.
  
• Investigate a batch asset download button that allows players to download all assets at once, rather than streaming them during gameplay. This type of UI and feature option was something not in the original game, and was previously a very tedious process to change.
  

Lastly, we realize that some of the above things that we’ve pointed out is a bit nebulous in the world of game dev speak and to better explain how we’re handling the launch of Unity, we’d like to invite you to join us on Wednesday July 16th at 10am PST in our official MPQ Discord Server for a State of Unity AMA. Our very own MPQ Game Producer, IceIX will be around for a few hours during our regular work day to answer some of our community's question regarding the state of MPQ's Unity launch and what plans we have to get things back on track after our recent rough start to the new game engine.

If you’re unable to make it for the live chat, we’ll do our best to take some notes and post them as a post-AMA F.A.Q. on our forums. Additionally, please feel free to ask questions in this Steam post and we’ll try to also address them during the AMA. See you then!

"Carries A Torch..."

• Fix for Deadpool Daily Crash of the Titans and other completion restricted missions resetting
  
• Fixed an issue that sometimes prevented the system navigation bar from being visible
  
• Fixed an issue preventing users that had maxed all Supports from having an un-dismissible dialog if they received additional Support Shards. If you were loading into a black screen, this was very likely the reason.
  
• Increase the scroll speeds in various locations around the app.
  
• Cover Exchange HP costs updated for the following rarities.
  
  • 1-Star: 75 HP (per cover)
    
  • 2-Star: 100 HP (per cover)
    
  • 3-Star: 150 HP (per cover)
    
  • 4-Star: 300 HP (per cover)
    
  • 5-Star: 500 HP (per cover)
    
  • 5-Star Latest Legends: 750 HP (per cover)
    

Performance optimizations:

• Implemented stronger framerate throttling/limiting
  
• Disabled some unnecessary analytics calls
  

[h3]Ability: Sword of Might[/h3]
Color: Red
AP Cost: 6
The Sword of Might cuts through doubt as easily as steel. Deal 370 damage to the target. If Captain Avalon’s current health percentage is higher than the target, increase this damage by 139 for each 10% he is higher.

(PASSIVE) Captain Avalon gains 40% increased effect from Strike tiles while he has the highest percentage of health remaining on the team.
270: Deal 712 damage, increased by 267 for each 10% higher. Gain 40% increased effect from Strike tiles.
370: Deal 1494 damage, increased by 560 for each 10% higher. Gain 40% increased effect from Strike tiles.

Level 2: Deal 509 damage, increased by 185 for each 9% higher. Gain 50% increased effect from Strike tiles.
270: Deal 979 damage, increased by 356 for each 9% higher. Gain 50% increased effect from Strike tiles.
370: Deal 2054 damage, increased by 746 for each 9% higher. Gain 50% increased effect from Strike tiles.

Level 3: Deal 555 damage, increased by 232 for each 8% higher. Gain 65% increased effect from Strike tiles.
270: Deal 1068 damage, increased by 445 for each 8% higher. Gain 65% increased effect from Strike tiles.
370: Deal 2241 damage, increased by 934 for each 8% higher. Gain 65% increased effect from Strike tiles.

Level 4: Deal 833 damage, increased by 278 for each 7% higher. Gain 95% increased effect from Strike tiles.
270: Deal 1602 damage, increased by 534 for each 7% higher. Gain 95% increased effect from Strike tiles.
370: Deal 3362 damage, increased by 1120 for each 7% higher. Gain 95% increased effect from Strike tiles.

Level 5: Deal 925 damage, increased by 417 for each 5% higher. Gain 150% increased effect from Strike tiles.
270: Deal 1780 damage, increased by 801 for each 5% higher. Gain 150% increased effect from Strike tiles.
370: Deal 3735 damage, increased by 1680 for each 5% higher. Gain 150% increased effect from Strike tiles.


[h3]Ability: Knight of the Realm[/h3]
Color: Yellow
AP Cost: 3
For honor, for realm, for all realities. Select a teammate and swap their current health percentage with Captain Avalon.

(PASSIVE) At the start of Captain Avalon’s turn and after he fires this ability, if he has the highest health percentage on your team, create 1 strength 28 Strike tile(s). If he has the lowest health percentage on your team, create 1 strength 28 Protect tile(s).
270: Create strength 53 Strike tiles. Create strength 53 Protect tiles.
370: Create strength 112 Strike tiles. Create strength 112 Protect tiles.

Level 2: Create strength 30 Strike tiles. Create strength 30 Protect tiles.
270: Create strength 57 Strike tiles. Create strength 57 Protect tiles.
370: Create strength 121 Strike tiles. Create strength 121 Protect tiles.

Level 3: Create strength 37 Strike tiles. Create strength 37 Protect tiles.
270: Create strength 71 Strike tiles. Create strength 71 Protect tiles.
370: Create strength 149 Strike tiles. Create strength 149 Protect tiles.

Level 4: Create strength 42 Strike tiles. Create 2 strength 42 Protect tiles.
270: Create strength 80 Strike tiles. Create 2 strength 80 Protect tiles.
370: Create strength 168 Strike tiles. Create 2 strength 168 Protect tiles.

Level 5: Create 2 strength 47 Strike tiles. Create strength 47 Protect tiles.
270: Create 2 strength 88 Strike tiles. Create strength 88 Protect tiles.
370: Create 2 strength 187 Strike tiles. Create strength 187 Protect tiles.


[h3]Ability: Oath Unbroken[/h3]
Color: Blue
AP Cost: 6
Oaths bind deeper than magic. If Captain Avalon’s current health percentage is lower than the target’s, burst heal Captain Avalon for 306 health, increased by 93 for each friendly Protect tile. Then, deal 306 damage to the target.

(PASSIVE) Captain Avalon gains 40% increased effect from Protect tiles while he has the lowest percentage of health remaining on the team.
270: Burst heal for 587 health, increased by 178. Deal 587 damage. Gain 40% increased effect from Protect tiles.
370: Burst heal for 1233 health, increased by 374. Deal 1233 damage. Gain 40% increased effect from Protect tiles.

Level 2: Burst heal for 390 health, increased by 186. Deal 390 damage. Gain 50% increased effect from Protect tiles.
270: Burst heal for 747 health, increased by 356. Deal 747 damage. Gain 50% increased effect from Protect tiles.
370: Burst heal for 1570 health, increased by 748. Deal 1570 damage. Gain 50% increased effect from Protect tiles.

Level 3: Burst heal for 464 health, increased by 279. Deal 464 damage. Gain 65% increased effect from Protect tiles.
270: Burst heal for 889 health, increased by 534. Deal 889 damage. Gain 65% increased effect from Protect tiles.
370: Burst heal for 1868 health, increased by 1122. Deal 1868 damage. Gain 65% increased effect from Protect tiles.

Level 4: Burst heal for 696 health, increased by 372. Deal 696 damage. Gain 95% increased effect from Protect tiles.
270: Burst heal for 1334 health, increased by 712. Deal 1334 damage. Gain 95% increased effect from Protect tiles.
370: Burst heal for 2803 health, increased by 1496. Deal 2803 damage. Gain 95% increased effect from Protect tiles.

Level 5: Burst heal for 1205 health, increased by 465. Deal 1205 damage. Gain 150% increased effect from Protect tiles.
270: Burst heal for 2312 health, increased by 890. Deal 2312 damage. Gain 150% increased effect from Protect tiles.
370: Burst heal for 4857 health, increased by 1870. Deal 4857 damage. Gain 150% increased effect from Protect tiles.

This week marks a critical milestone in the development of MPQ with the release of the Unity engine on Android and iOS. As of the release of this dev update, version R324 on mobile platforms has been submitted to their respective app stores and should be available to download once they have been cleared!

Now that Unity is officially on all devices, the most important issue that we want to ensure is the smooth transition of your account, which so far has seen relatively few account related issues being reported to our CS team from previous platform releases. As a final reminder before you download Unity, please back up your accounts to the cloud using Facebook/Google/Apple in case there are any account issues.

For players new to Unity and about to update their game, our end goal is to have the new engine perform like the original version of the game, but there are still a few present issues that we are actively working on. Those issues include:

1. General performance issues causing the game to stutter or crash. This will be an ongoing area of improvement as we adjust several variables on the backend to improve the game’s performance across all devices.
   
2. Visual graphics and text formatting issues. i.e. Points progression bar moving backwards after surpassing the next level or overlapping text
   
3. Missing assets or slow loading of assets. This is related to how Unity downloads missing assets from the servers since we don’t have a “Download all assets” feature at the moment.
   
4. Saved teams missing when updating to Unity. This is a known issue that we’re investigating.
   
5. Some events have incorrect visuals for the event rewards, but the correct rewards are being rewarded.
   

With this final stage of our staggered release plans, Unity’s full rollout marks the sunset of the original proprietary engine that has held the game together for all this time. It also made updating MPQ a very complicated ordeal so we’re really excited to finally refocus our attention on just one game engine. Part of that focus will be continuing to push out hotfixes over the upcoming weeks to smooth out any Unity bumps and equally as important, work on Unity specific tools to allow us to tackle making much needed Quality of Life updates and add features to freshen up your gameplay experience.

We've got some great things planned for both the near and mid terms that will be much easier now that we're running on this new engine, and we'll be talking about some of those things very soon!