Write Warz News

Hi Everyone!

We’re thrilled to share that we’ve just pushed through another update to the demo! Check out the changes:

Voting

Bug Fixes:
• Resolved issues with voting logic where votes were not being counted correctly in certain edge cases.

Improvements:
• In games with 5 - 6 players, any extra time remaining at the end of the first voting round will now carry over to the second voting round.
• Transitions between voting rounds have been sped up for a smoother experience.
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Score Screen Breakdown

Overall Enhancements:
• Significantly sped up the score breakdown process to improve game flow while maintaining transparency on point sources and player abilities.
• Reduced or eliminated small delays and wait times to accelerate the breakdown.

Specific Changes:
• Character Abilities: Retimed and accelerated character abilities (see Characters section for details).
• Pillar Animation: Drastically increased the speed of pillar animations.
• Reshuffle Animation: Replaced the horizontal movement with a new animation where player portraits pop out from the bottom of the frame during position shifts after the score screen.
• Point Pop-ups: Adjusted point pop-ups to be slightly smaller for a cleaner look.

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Menus

Scriptorium Updates:
• Introduced a new, streamlined design for character descriptions, enhancing readability in both the main area and character selection screens.
• Added new randomization options for characters, fonts, and font colors.
• The game now remembers your selections for the character skin, font, and font color between play sessions.

Layout Adjustments:
• Made minor spacing adjustments for improved menu aesthetics and navigation.

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Characters

General Updates:
• Informational pop-ups now appear in the center of the screen when a character ability is activated.
• Character abilities no longer interrupt gameplay.
• Simplified and clarified character ability descriptions for better readability and understanding.
• Accelerated all ability animations where possible to enhance game pacing.

New Characters:

Elara:
• Based on the character word system.
• Gains extra character word bonuses each round.
• Grants all players an additional word when she wins.

Brighthorn:
• When he wins a round, he burns a letter.
• Players who type the burned letter grant him extra points.
• Note: Brighthorn's main portrait is currently a placeholder.

Character Ability Adjustments:

Eli:
• Soul-stealing now occurs during the voting round.
• The action is only visible to Eli and the affected player.

Giselle:
• Point-stealing animations now occur during the voting round.
• Only visible to Giselle and the affected player.

Javier:
• Now requires only a single win to obtain his Magnum Opus.
• The Magnum Opus no longer grants additional points on subsequent wins.

Evelyn:
• Now haunts all players only when she wins.
• Added a new animation to support this change.

Kira:
• Now hacks all players only when she wins.
• Adjusted hack animations for consistency across the writing area and player portraits.

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Plot Points

Witching Hour:
• Implemented a ramping point system:
• Players lose more points for multiple failures.
• Players gain more points for multiple successes.
• Improved tutorial clarity.
• Players can now type during the tutorial.
• Added new ingredient words.
• Reworked visual elements for better user experience.
• Receiving the Arcane Anecdote now grants a flat 50 points.
• Word bonuses are no longer awarded during this event.

Cursed Manuscript/Mysterious Stranger:
• Sped up the intro animation to reduce downtime.

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AI Improvements
• Introduced a new system to prevent AI from generating inappropriate content or breaking immersion by becoming too meta.
• Enhanced AI voting logic to more accurately select the best sentences.
• Testing a new AI model: Your feedback on sentence quality is appreciated!
• AI names are now pre-generated to eliminate extra wait time when entering a lobby.
• If AI is enabled, the AI will now generate plot point sentences.

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Miscellaneous

Profanity Filter:
• Adjusted to run only at the end of words or upon submission, reducing false positives.
• Autocorrect will no longer change words into profanity.

Gameplay:
• Players can no longer be kicked from custom games for being AFK.
• Applied a validator to the starting sentence to prevent exploits.
• Increased the time allocated for the story readout to enhance readability.

User Interface:
• Removed the top-left UI element for a cleaner screen layout.

Thank you for your continued support and feedback. We hope these updates enhance your gaming experience!

Make sure to share any feedback in the Steam Community Hub or the Discord server.

– Boltz Entertainment

We continue to make improvements on our bot system for solo players. But be warned, they’re still in early alpha, so you might encounter some odd (but hilarious) behavior. Report anything inappropriate, and don’t forget to share your favorite stories!


[h2]Major Additions:[/h2]
[h3]New Characters:[/h3]





[h2]Avatar changes[/h2]

• Kira: Fixed sound issues with her abilities.
  
• Giselle: Can now gain points from Eli when his shield is active (without Eli losing points).
  

[h2]Progress Panel Update:[/h2]

Major Changes

• Progress Panel Update
  
• The Progress Panel has been removed to prevent spoilers for round winners.
  
• Voting progress and required votes are now shown directly in your word box or on a new panel on the right side of the screen.
  
• 
  
• Word Bonus System Overhaul
  
• Regular Word Bonus Box
  
• Durable Word Bonus Box: This box is protected from disturbances (e.g., Vixen’s abilities) and is used for plot point mechanics.
  

The Progress Panel Update and Word Bonus System Overhaul were introduced to streamline the game interface, making it cleaner and more intuitive for players. The goal was to prioritize key gameplay elements like word bonuses and prequel words, while reducing potential distractions.

One of the main reasons for this change is the introduction of characters like Vixen, whose abilities can manipulate or affect gameplay. The addition of the Durable Word Bonus Box ensures that certain critical aspects, like plot point mechanics, remain protected from Vixen’s attacks or similar future character abilities.

This update ensures a smoother user experience by focusing attention on what’s most important for each round, without giving away spoilers, and keeping vital gameplay mechanics secure and intact.


[h2]New Visuals & Animations:[/h2]

• The "Winning Sentence" panel sprite has been updated to match the theme better.
  
• Notifications for Plot Point rewards now reflect the origin of the points.
  
• Player-selected font settings are now reflected while writing.
  
• The Pirate Theme is now available in lobby creation (not yet playable).
  
• Added a QR Code on the "Save the Story" scene that links to the Write Warz Steam page.
  
• Point notifications now stack upwards instead of combining.
  

[h2]Tweaks:[/h2]

Plot Points:

• Fixed an issue with "Cursed Manuscript" icons resetting prematurely.
  
• Made "Evil Fog" easier to see through and improved performance.
  
• Upgraded "Mysterious Stranger" plot point character to a 3d model.
  
  Miscellaneous:
  
• Adjusted various fonts for in-game texts, menus, and match scenes to better fit the themes.
  
• Resolved problems with bot names that were previously generating inappropriate names.
  
• Additional Tweaks
  
  AI Improvements:
  
• Greatly improved advanced AI’s sentence outputs.
  
• Bot names are better generated with fewer repetitions and inappropriate words.
  
  Lobby and Menu Updates:
  
• The Scriptorium is now selectable in the lobby
  
• Improved theme headers in the lobby and adjusted skin/character name displays.
  

We have some awesome bot improvements for our solo players along with general bug fixes and a fix quality of life updates.


[h2]Bot Improvements:[/h2]

• Further refined bot behavior to ensure it stays on track with the story and avoids inappropriate references.
  
• Bots now have better sentence generation, fitting the context of the story more accurately.
  
• Adjusted bot voting logic to prioritize story cohesion when casting votes.
  
• Bot names have been improved to be more readable and less cringy (fewer numbers and l33t speak).
  
• Bots have been enhanced to better recognize the end of a story and provide more satisfying conclusions.
  

[h2]General bug fixes:[/h2]

• Fixed an issue where players could select unavailable characters in the demo.
  
• Resolved a lobby glitch when creating multiple lobbies in succession.
  
• Corrected issues with unintentional words being allowed during the Moonlight Inspiration plot point.
  

[h2]Tweaks:[/h2]

• Character Ability Tooltips: Now updated to reflect changes in ability values due to round/player count.
  
• Kira’s Grammar Overload: No longer hacks the same player multiple times in a row.
  
• Abilities During Plot Points: Character abilities now trigger during Plot Point events for more strategic depth.
  

[h2]Quality of life and other changes:[/h2]

• Game mode buttons now activate instantly without needing to press play again.
  
• The game will notify you of updates while it’s open.
  
• The scriptorium now correctly hides unavailable characters in the demo.
  
• Updated profanity list to improve gameplay experience.
  

This patch ensures smoother gameplay and more polished Bot interactions, keeping the fun and creativity flowing in every session!

We’ve heard your feedback, and now you can experience Write Warz in solo mode with AI bots! These bots use open-source AI to create, vote, and respond like human players. But be warned, they’re still in early alpha, so you might encounter some odd (but hilarious) behavior. Report anything inappropriate, and don’t forget to share your favorite stories!


[h2]Major Additions:[/h2]
[h3]New Characters:[/h3]





[h2]Avatar changes[/h2]

• Removed Jack and Camilla. They need some reworks and will come back at a later season.
  
• Characters with multiple abilities now trigger them simultaneously when relevant.
  
• Abilities won’t trigger during the final round.
  
• Adjusted Kira’s Hack Ability size for better balance.
  
• Valthrax now gains double points for burning Good Judgement and can burn his own.
  

[h2]Good Judgement in Write Warz:[/h2]

Good Judgement is an essential mechanic in Write Warz that rewards players for voting on the sentence that ends up winning the round. It’s not just about earning points but also about shaping the story by choosing the sentence that best fits the narrative. Choosing wisely ensures that the story flows seamlessly and that you stay competitive in the game, even if your own sentences aren’t always the winning ones.

Before: Good Judgement previously had a base value of 15 points. Each time you voted correctly, this stacked with a 2x and eventually a 3x multiplier, allowing players to earn up to 45 points per round just for voting for the best sentence. This system has been in a good spot, so we're not adjusting the point values. However, if you win a round (since you can’t vote for yourself), or if you vote for the wrong sentence, you lose your Good Judgement points. This mechanic keeps you in the game and competitive, even when your sentences aren’t always on top.

After: We’ve made visual changes to streamline the Good Judgement system. Instead of cluttering the screen with the 1x icon, we’ve removed it (you’ll still get your 15 points) and now it will jump straight to the 2x icon for a cleaner display.

Good Judgement Adjustments: This update simplifies the interface without altering the core function, making it easier to track your Good Judgement multipliers while continuing to reward smart voting. Choose wisely to influence the story and gain the advantage!

[h2]New Visuals & Animations:[/h2]

• Evil Fog Visuals – Enhanced fog effects make this event even spookier.
  
• Good Judgement Gain/Loss Animations – See your judgment shift with improved animations.
  
• Points no longer travel to players but disappear in place.
  
• Added point notifications above players' scoreboards for better clarity.
  
• Sped up voting, point breakdown, and tiebreaker animations for a more streamlined experience.
  

[h2]Tweaks:[/h2]

• Character Ability Tooltips: Now updated to reflect changes in ability values due to round/player count.
  
• Kira’s Grammar Overload: No longer hacks the same player multiple times in a row.
  
• Abilities During Plot Points: Character abilities now trigger during Plot Point events for more strategic depth.
  

[h2]UI Enhancements:[/h2]

• Profanity filter tweaked to avoid flagging common words like “cook.”
  
• Added post-processing effects to the Story Readout.
  
• Profanity Detected message now glows and is more visible.
  
• Good Judgement icon system now never shows you with only 1x multiplier.
  
• Aligned first sentence in the story readout for better readability.
  
• You now must vote in both regular and tiebreaker voting to earn Good Judgement points.
  
• Voting panel now clearly indicates when you are in a tiebreaker situation.
  

[h2]General Bug Fixes:[/h2]

• Fixed word box occasionally not disappearing.
  
• Fixed transition issues between readout and writing phases.
  
• Fixed multiple UI elements blocking the story.
  
• Resolved issues with Sigrun's ability triggering incorrect animations.
  
• Fixed longer names taking up two lines during gameplay.
  
• Adjusted sentence suggestion bugs pushing the story out of view.
  
• Fixed Write Warz font having odd vertical spacing.
  
• Fixed various visual and audio issues related to voting, point breakdown, and Witching Hour events.
  
• And many more minor bug fixes and improvements!
  

Prepare to set sail on the grandest adventure yet with our brand new pirate-themed Pre-Season! The high seas await, filled with treasures, dangers, and legendary tales.

[h2]Here’s a sneak peek at what’s coming:[/h2]

• New Pirate Soundtrack: Feel the salt air and the rhythm of the ocean with a brand new swashbuckling soundtrack to accompany your journey.
  
• Two New Characters: Meet fearsome new faces from the pirate world who will join you in your battles of wit and creativity.
  
• Six Brand New Pirate-Themed Plot Points: Including thrilling mini-games and challenges like:
  Survive Davy Jones' Assault
  Search for Lost Treasure
  Wager Your Gold for the Magical Pirate’s Charm
  … and much more to test your mettle!
  
• Explore New Ports After Each Round: Buy and sell goods to improve your chances. Feed your crew to keep them happy—happy sailors cast extra votes in your favor! But beware, if they’re too unhappy, they may mutiny! 😱
  
• Cannonball Fights and Ship Repairs: Buy cannonballs to attack your foes or repair your ship before you sink!
  
• Epic Random Events: Navigate through unpredictable twists, new words, and stories that will challenge even the best writers.
  
• And yes, you heard right—shanties to sing! That’s right, we’ve added pirate sing-alongs for an extra bit of fun as you chart your course!
  

[h3]This is more than an adventure, mates—it's a quest to become the greatest pirate storyteller on the high seas! Prepare to face danger, fortune, and legendary tales when the Pre-Season drops next month! Stay tuned, ye salty sea dogs! [/h3]