Skullgirls 2nd Encore News

Hello, Liam here.

This update focuses on more Beowulf and Annie tuning, primarily.

Also, while the qualifiers for the Skullgirls Championship Series were last weekend, this weekend it's time for the MAIN EVENT!



Make sure to tune in tomorrow, Saturday April 24th at 1PM PT to catch the action on https://www.twitch.tv/SkullgirlsGG.

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[h3]ANNIE[/h3]

• Massively overhauled the presentation and audio for Annie's air throw, "Gimbal Lock".
  
• Updated jMK VFX, again.
  
• Updated autograph picture presentation during "Photo Bop".
  
• sF+HP (Forward + HP) animation timing slightly adjusted so that Annie gets to an identifiable frame quicker, so players can notice the overhead is coming.
  
• sF+HP used to have Annie slide on one foot forward before delivering the hit, despite her not changing animation frames. This was adjusted so her footing and movement are in sync. For gameplay impact, she travels slightly less farther forward before delivering the hit.
  
• Updated hit and whiff sounds on sF+HP to be more dramatic.
  
• Fixed a bug where Annie could get stuck tilting left or right when using Re Entry.
  
• Fixed a bug where sF+MP wouldn't stagger if used immediately after Crescent Cut from a previous chain.
  
• Annie's air dash correctly adjusts momentum when it ends without her cancelling into an action, like all other characters.
  
• North Knuckle (H):
  
  • The wall splat only happens once per combo, like other non Blockbuster wall splat moves.
    
  • Reduced the knock back against assists when using the follow up slam even further.
    
  • First hit damage reduced from 700 to 650.
    
  • Increased recovery on slam follow up on successful hit to require Annie to be closer to the corner to convert.
    (... If you want more time for follow up options or dashing up to the opponent after, use North Knuckle (M) instead.)
• Adjusted jHP hitbox. (Small reduction)
  
• Adjusted jLK and jMK hitbox. (Improvement)
  
• Pillar of Creation knocks opponents higher, but no longer drains meter. The screen flash during the grip has been removed.
  
• Re Entry first and second kick damage reduced by 100. Final kick damage increased by 100.
  
• When using jMK immediately after jumping and performing an air dash, Annie's air dash lockout period is much longer than usual.
  (... This prevents low to the ground air dash jLK from hitting crouchers - she doesn't need this fast overhead option)
• Sagan Beam damage per hit reduced from 290 to 250.
  
• Star Power passive meter drain increased from 1 bar per 10 seconds to 1 bar per 7 seconds.
  
• Star Power jHP meter drain increased by 2% of 1 bar.
  
• Ground throw recovery increased by 9F.
  (... Universal throw confirms midscreen are still easy, try using Crescent Cut M if you weren't already)

[h3]BEOWULF[/h3]

• Fixed a bug with Wulfshoot where universal throw unblockable protection that allows characters to block Excellabella, A-Train, H Buer, etc, while rising, would only activate once where Beowulf starts Wulfshoot. It now activates as Beowulf moves, preventing unblockables that could be set up by starting Wulfshoot from anywhere but a close distance.
  
• Chip damage when blocking normals without the chair reduced from 50 to 35 damage.
  
• Held s[LP] hype build slightly increased. (1/40 each frame to 1/35).
  
• Taunt grants three hype immediately again, just like in retail. Recovery slightly increased from last update, but total recovery is less than retail still.
  
• Taunt gains 3 hype in the middle of Beowulf's howling, rather than at the end.
  (... Hint: sHK [Stagger] → Taunt [Get 3 Hype] → Gigantic Arm is practical [Solo!] to build 3 hype and combo after if you spend the bar... Getting interrupted with a projectile is also less likely to prevent Beowulf from getting 3 hype. This might be too strong, we'll see!)
  
  Beowulf gaining 3 hype on his own and being able to combo after, in addition to him being able to acquire hype more easily, comes with some changes:
  
  
• Hype acquired mid combo from s[LP], Taunt, or non-EX finishers (and any hype acquired in the same combo afterwards), will make any EX finisher it is spent on deal half damage. This does not apply to Super finishers, and it does not reduce Geatish Trepak's damage since it's not boosted during the EX version. TL;DR - Spending hype gained mid combo on EX finishers does less damage.
  
  (... EXAMPLES: If you have two hype, and gain one hype in a combo from taunt, then your first two finishers in the combo deal full damage, but the last one will deal half... If you have one hype, and taunt to gain two more hype, then your first finisher deals full damage, and the last two will deal half damage... If you start a new combo, none of this applies.)

[h3]ELIZA[/h3]

• Reduced variance in how far away the blood spawned from Sekhmet's new super can land.
  

[h3]PAINWHEEL[/h3]

• Fixed a bug where Painwheel couldn't fly around during the mid round downtime of a solo vs solo match, like she could in Retail.
  
• Added "Lenient Button Dashing" for Painwheel. Two punch inputs can be pressed one frame apart while still getting a button dash.
  (... This change will continue to be rolled out for more characters in the future, as stated before.)

[h3]ROBO-FORTUNE[/h3]

• Warranty Extension starts self inflicted damage at 300, and increases self inflicted damage by 100 for each head consumed, maxing out at 1000.
  (... Now that she cannot regain the health since the damage provides no red life, this should feel appropriately fair for 3 meter while still making sure attempting to stay in Circuit Breaker indefinitely is very costly and risky.)
  
  So far, feedback seems to indicate sHK feels fair for the defender and the attacker, and people seem to be enjoying it. So, continuing the trend of improving sHK as serviceable overhead after her loss of IDJC overheads, here are a few more changes:
  
  
• Overhauled the presentation for Robo-Fortune's new homing jump after sHK.
  
• Fixed a bug where Robo-Fortune couldn't perform her new homing jump when hitting sHK in a reset after using it in the previous combo.
  
• Removed animation recovery added when the opponent blocks sHK, it now only plays on successful hit against the point character.
  
• Tuned sHK blockstun and recovery. With the above changes it is now -13 on block.
  (... Certainly punishable up close, and punishable from far away by various character specific tools.

(Build version 3.1.17)

Hello, Liam here.

This update is ONLY for the championship_series branch, to be used with the upcoming Skullgirls Championship Series tournament happening tomorrow (Saturday, April 17th) at 4PM PT

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Note, this update contains NO gameplay balance changes.

[h3]BETA MODE[/h3]

• "BETA" text from the top of the screen has been removed in this build, even when in the Beta version of the game.
  

[h3]ANNIE[/h3]

• Updated Annie with all of her latest VFX and audio improvements from 3.1.16. This includes Re Entry, JMK, and Crescent Cut.
  

(Build version 3.1.15.1)

Hello, Liam here.

The bulk of this update is about improving Annie's visual effects and presentation on some of her moves.

As a separate reminder, the sign-ups for the first event for the Skullgirls Championship Series close in less than 4 hours. If you still haven't signed-up (for FREE) for a shot at this event's prize pool - get on it!


REGISTRATION & INFORMATION:
https://smash.gg/tournament/spring-blockbuster-skullgirls-championship-series

Just looking to spectate? Make sure to tune in April 16th for the qualifiers on https://www.twitch.tv/skullgirlsgg, and watch for updates on https://twitter.com/skullgirlsgg.

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[h3]ANNIE[/h3]

• Fully overhauled the visuals, audio, and presentation of Annie's "Re Entry" special move.
  
• Brightened Crescent Cut's visuals.
  
• Adjusted and brightened jMK's visuals.
  
• Adjusted sf+HP's hitbox to more closely match the art. This was a slight hitbox reduction.
  

[h3]ROBO-FORTUNE[/h3]

• Robo-Fortune's sHK can now cancel into a jump that chases after the opponent when they hit the wall. Hold up or up forward after the hit to perform it. This requires and spends one of her heads.
  
  (... For context, this was meant to be Robo-Fortune's new universal overhead option that allows for combos after her loss of vastly superior "IDJC" overheads originally in the first beta update, which I know some players are sad about her losing... Since the work for this was already done months ago, and enough people have been asking us about it, we're going to try it for at least one patch. This is still WIP and very experimental, so don't get too attached to it!)
  

(Build version 3.1.16)

Hello, Liam here.

This update is actually TWO updates for the (free) price of one. Wow!

The first update, v3.1.14, is now live in the beta version of Skullgirls that you've been playing with so far. It contains ongoing balance changes for some of Friday's new additions.

The second update, v3.1.15, is now live in the championship_series branch. Per community feedback, this is the version of the game that will be used for the upcoming Skullgirls Championship Series qualifiers on April 16th, and the main event on April 24th.

You can access it by right clicking "Skullgirls 2nd Encore", then going to Properties... then Betas, then selecting it from the drop down.



Note: The championship series will be held in the "Annie Early Access" version in the championship_series Beta branch, which means Annie will be available for tournament play. Make sure the version number on the lower right of the title screen says 3.1.15 - that means you're in the right place!

If you still haven't gotten around to registering yet (it's FREE!) for a shot at this event's prize pool of $2,500, get in quick - sign ups for the first event close in 3 days! With a total series prize pool of $17,500, the sooner you start competing, the better your chances at making it into the final Skullgirls 2021 Championship event.

REGISTRATION & INFORMATION:
https://smash.gg/tournament/spring-blockbuster-skullgirls-championship-series/details

Now then, on to the update notes...

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[h3]VERSION 3.1.14 (BETA)[/h3]

• Adjusted Annie's North Knuckle Slam for strengths M and H against Big Band so that all hits of Sagan Beam connect afterwards.
  
• Adjusted Annie's Pillar of Creation knockup height and delay on the second hit.
  
• When Valentine performs Counter Venom as a DHC, she always delivers the level 1 strength of the loaded Vial Hazard instead of the currently loaded strength.
  

[h3]VERSION 3.1.15 (CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES)[/h3]

• Adjusted Annie's North Knuckle Slam for strengths M and H against Big Band so that all hits of Sagan Beam connect afterwards.
  
• Adjusted Annie's Pillar of Creation knockup height and delay on the second hit.
  
  The following changes need more time to be tested before they're viable for tournament play, so they are reverted for the Championship Series build only.
  
  
• Reverted Beowulf to his retail (not beta) version.
  
• Reverted Valentine to her retail (not beta) version.
  
• Annie's Pillar of Creation no longer drains the opponent's meter.
  

Hello, Liam here.

This is a small update that focuses on fixing a few bugs and issues.
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[h3]GENERAL[/h3]

• Fixed an issue where Annie could DHC out of Pillar of Creation before the projectile spawned.
  
• Fixed an issue where Beowulf's newly added double snap crowd sounds would trigger on Ms. Fortune's head.
  
• Beowulf's EX Chair Recall special does not break armor anymore.
  
• Fixed an issue where Beowulf maintained two hype when performing a double snap.
  
• Fixed an issue where EX Chair Recall would cancel assist actions.
  
• Fixed an issue where sHK would not build 1/3 hype when staggering the opponent unless it was the first sHK used in a combo.
  
• Fixed an issue where Big Band's level 5 wasn't wall bouncing opponents correctly, even if it hit the point character.
  
• Fixed an issue where Valentine could use Counter Venom in the wrong direction as a DHC.
  

(Build version 3.1.13)