Masters of the Book!
We’re the Flint development team, and today we have another set of updates to share with you all. But before all that, we hope that you are all having a great start to the New Year!
2024 has started with a bang here in Korea, and we’ve been hard at working making sure that ASTRA: Knights of Veda lives up to the expectations that you have for it.
In this Developer Update, we're excited to share with you an array of convenience features and graphical enhancements, building upon our last developer update focused on combat. While it's impossible to cover every new addition, we're spotlighting the most significant ones. We aim to provide detailed information about these key updates, ensuring you're well-informed about the latest enhancements we’re making to the game.
[h2]Party Play and World Level Switching [/h2]
We have heard quite a bit of feedback that players would prefer to tackle the nightmares of Planis with their friends and allies for their first playthroughs of the game.
Throughout the FGBT, in order to team up with other Masters of the Book you first had to clear a stage alone in order to unlock the co-op experience for that stage. Our latest changes allow you to team up with others from the start, allowing you to invite friends of any level to join your party and help out on your adventures.
As world level differences were somewhat of an issue when trying to party together, we’ve removed the cool time when switching between world levels. That said, you can still only lower your world level by a maximum of 1 level.
We’re also opening up both Veda’s Nightmare and Sealed Prisons for party play too, allowing you to bring your friends and guild members along for the ride.
[h2]Added Button to Change Up Team and Run in Town [/h2]
We recognize that controlling your character in town is different to how it is in combat and that has resulted in a less satisfactory experience for some players. We’ve made it easier for you to express yourself in town with the same transformation functions that you would have during an adventure. We’ve also added the ability to run in town as well.
[h2]Cutscene Improvements[/h2]
Many players have expressed frustration with the pop up window that appears when you skip a cutscene that offers rewards.
We’ve restructured the rewards previously linked to the story cutscenes and incorporated them into dungeon completion rewards and related achievements.
We’ve also added a “Do not show warnings again” option for all alerts, streamlining your playthrough and minimizing interruptions.
[h2]Adding and Expanding Convenience Features[/h2]
[h3]1. Added Hero’s Shoes[/h3]
Many players mentioned the fatigue that comes with item farming.
So to help combat that fatigue, we added Hero Shoes. By fusing Adventurer’s Shoes and some gold, you’ll be able to create Hero’s Shoes. Hero’s Shoes allow you to get multiple runs worth of rewards in just one outing.
[h3]2. Added the option to adjust your graphics/sound before the game starts or during your adventure[/h3]
We’ve added an Options menu to the title screen where you can adjust graphics and sound settings. You can also use the Options button (exit button) during combat to change the options you need on the go.
[h3]3. Improved Party Setup UX[/h3]
We’re making a lot of improvements to the UI and UX of the game. Many players expressed their frustrations with the party settings, so we’re making changes to the UX to make it more intuitive and easier to change and manage your parties.
[h3]4. Added Claim All Button to Achievements Menu[/h3]
Certain rewards, including achievements, required you to claim each reward individually. So we added a claim all function to make it quicker to get your rewards, and get back into the action.
[h3]5. Added Screenshot Mode[/h3]
For convenience, we’ve added a feature that allows you to take screenshots that hide the UI.
[h3]6. Improved Navigation Guides Through Complex Stages[/h3]
Later game stages can have complicated layouts which can make it confusing to navigate. A new footprint effect has been added to all maps, including these complicated ones, to highlight your path to the next objective.
[h3]7. Stage Fail Screen Improvements[/h3]
More information has been added to the stage failure screen, which highlights areas where you can improve your team and gather the strength to continue on.
[h3]8. Auto-equip Recommended Equipment[/h3]
A new function has been added that will allow you to automatically equip the best gear that you have earned on your adventures, making it a little easier to gear up your characters, and allow you to focus on making them stronger.
[h3]9. Battle Alerts On/Off Option[/h3]
There was overwhelming feedback in regards to the repetition of phrases such as “You are not ready” and other notifications during battle, so a new option has been added that will allow you to turn them on or off in the settings.
[h3]10. Fixed Confusing Weapon Categories/Names[/h3]
The following names for weapon types or unclear categorization have been fixed as follows to clear up any confusion they may have caused. (Please note that the localization of these weapon categories may be different in the final version.)
- 1H Sword & Shield → Sword & Shield
- 1H Axe & Shield → Axe & Shield
- 1H Club & Shield → Club & Shield
- 2H Sword → Sword
- 2H Greatsword → Greatsword
- 2H Axe → Axe
- 2H Club → Club
[h2]Knights Missions Improvements[/h2]
Knights Missions are the daily quests for ASTRA: Knights of Veda. The initial response to these missions was that the rewards for the missions were all the same, while also being unrewarding.
We have therefore increased the value of the rewards offered through the Knights Missions, as well as differentiating the materials offered through different quests.
[h2]Calydon Dungeon Improvements[/h2]
Calydon Dungeon has also seen improvements. Originally it had a very simple pattern with long spawn times for the monsters to appear.
The monsters within the dungeon will now carry the attribute of the region they appear in, and will come in greater numbers at a more consistent pace.
We’ve also made them less time consuming and more rewarding to play.
[h2]What We’re Working on and the Next Developer Update[/h2]
We’re working on all of the above and more.
There’s a lot of content in the works, including guilds, gifting, a Knight of Veda birthday system and more. We’re also polishing the Arena and working on adding new modes.
Make sure that you check out our next Dev Update, where we’ll be talking about changes to the economy, increased rewards and more!
We can’t wait for your adventures to begin.
ASTRA: Knights of Veda Development Team
