Splintered News

[p]Early Access Patch #14 (v0.2.4) contains feature work to help prepare for Chapter 3. Primarily, it changes how "Enemy Traits" are conveyed to the player. The overall goal is to reduce excess text at the start of battle and provide clarity on the enemy's current traits without interrupting the flow of gameplay. [/p][p][/p][h3]Enemy Traits:[/h3]

• [p]Traits are now displayed as a tag that pops-up over the enemy at the start of battle.[/p]
  • [p]Example: Instead of "The Enchanted Construct is surging with power!", you'll now briefly see the "Surging!" tag appear over the enemy.[/p]
  • [p]Displaying these tags doesn't delay combat input, even if an enemy has many traits to display.[/p]
  • [p]Previously, some traits didn't announce themselves. Now, all traits are revealed and are much more apparent, though players may not immediately understand their effects.[/p]
• [p]Items such as the Voidstone and Rose Pendant now display their trait interactions in a similar way.[/p]
  • [p]The Voidstone, when held, replaces the "Surging!" trait with "Weakened!".[/p]
  • [p]The Rose Pendant, when held, replaces the "Invisible!" trait with "Revealed!".[/p]
• [p]Note: A feature will be added in the near future that provides a detailed description of every Enemy Trait in-game.[/p]

[h3][/h3][p][/p][h3]Related Changes:[/h3]

• [p]Invisible[/p]
  • [p]Previously: +50% Enemy Evasion[/p]
  • [p]Now: +20% Enemy Evasion, +20% Magic Resistance[/p]
• [p]Voidstone description[/p]
  • [p]Previously: "An orb of great power, capable of siphoning limitless energy from surging foes."[/p]
  • [p]Now: "An orb of great power. Siphons energy from surging foes, weakening them."[/p][p][/p][p][/p]

[h3]General changes:[/h3]

• [p]Fixed a rare edge case in world generation that sometimes prevented the guaranteed town near Havenroc Castle from being placed nearby.[/p]
• [p]Various text changes. [/p]

Early Access Patch #13 (v0.2.3) is mostly a small patch containing a couple of improvements to the "Trial of Instinct" based on player feedback. However, this patch also contains major changes to Splintered behind the scenes to support localization.

Ideally, the localization changes will go completely unnoticed and display the English text exactly as you'd expect. However, the way text is delivered behind the scenes has changed drastically. This work is in preparation for supporting a Japanese translation of the game, and is a big step toward that milestone!



Trial of Instinct Changes

• When auto-battling in Instinct mode, your character will wait 1 second before automatically making their first move when entering a new battle. This only occurs in Instinct Mode when auto-battling. This delay can be skipped by pressing or holding confirm/cancel (to fight/run).
  
  
  • Previously, running on turn 1 often wouldn't occur unless the player was holding the run button prior to battle (indicating they wanted to run from everything).
    
  • Now, players can make a quick decision to assess if they want to fight or run on the first turn.
    
  • Important note: This delay can be skipped! Pressing/Holding the "confirm" or "cancel" button will immediately start the auto-battling with fighting or running, respectively. This allows battles to be just as snappy as they were previously when you have a good idea of what enemies you'll face and know exactly how you want to respond.
    
• Changed the behavior around 'Mana Shield' in Instinct Mode
  
  
  • Previously, auto-battling caused Mana Shield to be used too much and resulted in quite a bit of MP loss (20 MP at a time)
    
  • Now, if Instinct Mode detects Mana Shield will activate, the situation will be treated as a "dire" state, resulting in defensive maneuvers such as Greater Heal.
    
  • Note: In practice, this makes the Mage Stone with the Mana Shield ability less detrimental to use when auto-battling and saves quite a bit of MP (this is especially true against Dreska and her 2x tail thrash). This change should help improve Mage viability in the mode.
    

Localization Changes:

• The delivery of all in-game text has changed to support localization. Ideally, these changes will go unnoticed, and English text will be displayed as expected.
  
• If you see any issues with text delivery, please send a report (and a screenshot would be greatly appreciated if available!). Here's an example for context:
  
  
  • Seeing a text label like: "inappropriate_item" instead of the expected "This isn't the time to use that item!".
    

General Changes:

• When enemies heal, the combat display will now say specifically how much HP they healed for.
  
• Various minor text adjustments.
  

v0.2.3a:

• Fixed an issue where Talent names weren't displaying properly when unlocked.
  

Early Access Patch #12 (v0.2.2) features new content: the "Trial of Instinct"! The Trial of Instinct provides a fun new way to play Splintered with it's own set of challenges. This trial also comes with two new achievements.


Trial of Instinct

• Enemies are faster than ever leaving you with no time to think, but Aedma has blessed you with supernatural Instinct!
  
• Featured Modifiers:
  
  • Instinct Mode. Combat unfolds automatically and you can only choose between fight or flight! When in battle, your character will instinctually try to make the best move against your opponent. Your spells, items, and equipment abilities will influence your character's split second decisions.
    
  • Clearing the Trial of Instinct unlocks this modifier in the Randomizer's custom settings.
    

Additional Updates:

• There's now a timer that tracks your current run time when playing content outside of the main quest (the "Randomizer" or "Aedma's Trials").
  
  • The run timer can be viewed in the pause menu when playing a randomizer run or trial.
    
  • Your "Clear Time" will also be displayed in the main text box when you complete one of these runs.
    
• Fixed an issue where the "Help" system progress wouldn't save properly under certain conditions.
  
  • This also fixes a downstream effect where playing Chapter 1 on File 1, and then switching to Chapter 1 on File 2, would pollute File 2's "Help" data (and vice versa).
    
• Two new achievements have been added for the "Trial of Instinct".
  

Early Access Patch #11 (v0.2.1) is largely a balance patch aimed at combat balance, equipment choice, and rewards. Also, a new item type, "Charms", have been added.

In general, sources of +DEF should feel more impactful, further improving class identity and increasing the value of armor/shield upgrades. Mid-tier enemies are slightly more difficult but enemies overall should feel more rewarding (high-tier enemies are now especially rewarding!). Charms provide a boost to the base stat of your choice and in seeds with excess gold, enchanting them is great way to spend it (they can be enchanted to +9, but with greatly diminished returns and increased costs). Standard now features "Enhanced Teleport". All this and more in the patch notes below!



Primary Changes:

• Player's Base DEF formula modified
  • DEX now gives less natural DEF (~3/4ths of previous value).
    
  • Some armors have been given small amounts of +DEF to help compensate.
    
  • Related Change: Upgrading equipment now gives +6 ATK/DEF (up from +5 ATK/DEF).
    
  • The primary goal of this change is to increase the impact of +DEF sources. DEX was giving a large amount of base DEF, and often caused the effect of +DEF from equipment, abilities, and equipment upgrades to have a diminished effect and feel less impactful. This change also means enemies will deal slightly more damage with attacks, especially in the mid-game before equipment upgrades are applied.
    
• Enemy buffs:
  • Mid-tier enemies strength and defenses have been slightly increased. Their EXP rewards have also been slightly increased to compensate.
    
  • Very slight enemy HP increase (~3%). When enemies spawn, their HP is calculated from a range based on their Max HP. This HP range is now 80% to 100% (up from 75% to 100%). This means -very- slightly more enemy HP on average with a more predictable HP range.
    
• Intense Dragon Breath:
  • Previously dealt: 65-72 DMG
    
  • Now deals: 54-60 DMG
    
  • Note: Dreska's Intense Dragon Breath STILL deals ~65-72 DMG, as she now contains the "Flameborne" trait, increasing her fire damage by 20%.
    
  • This change helps make the Magi-Dragon and Elder-Dragon a bit more manageable, as the requirements to survive two Intense Dragon Breaths has reduced.
    
• Enemy Rewards:
  • Enemies will now give 2x EXP when slain for the first time.
    
    • This further rewards seeking out new foes to slay, even when you have little interest in their Talents for your current build. It also encourages taking on slightly more difficult enemies for the early surge of EXP.
      
  • High-tier enemies have had their EXP rewards substantially buffed.
    
    • High-tier enemies are often difficult, taking several turns and resources to bring down. This lead them to be often skipped and avoided. Their increased rewards in addition to the 2x EXP "first defeat" bonus makes hunting them down much more worthwhile.
      
  • Mid-High tier enemies have had slight EXP increases as well.
    
• Charms:
  • The "Secret Shop" in Edelynn now sells Charms (the Ward Potions have been moved to the standard shop). A "Charm Enchanter" can be found next to the vendor.
    
  • Increases the base stat of your choice (HP, MP, STR, DEX) when held in your inventory. You can only hold one charm.
    
  • Costs 50g. Gives +4STR, +4DEX, +6HP, or +6MP.
    
  • Can be enchanted (upgraded) to +9, but with greatly diminished returns and increased cost with each level. Charms are very economical and beneficial from levels 0-4. Levels 5+ are often a "luxury" to provide a small stat boost to players with excess gold.
    
    
    • e.g. for the STR Charm (DEX Charm has same values):
      
      • Level 0: +4STR, 50g total cost
        
      • Level 2: +8STR, 500g total cost
        
      • Level 4: +10STR, 2000g total cost
        
      • Level 9: +15STR, 12000g total cost
        
    • e.g. for the HP Charm (MP Charm has same values):
      
      • Level 0: +6HP, 50g total cost
        
      • Level 2: +12HP, 500g total cost
        
      • Level 4: +16HP, 2000g total cost
        
      • Level 9: +24HP, 12000g total cost
        

Other Changes:

• Standard Preset updated, now features Enhanced Teleport (previously Default style).
  
• The Dagger's 3-step strike ability now takes 360EXP to learn (up from 60)
  
  • This is a very powerful ability and obtaining this often felt instant at virtually any stage of the game. It now takes a little more effort to come online in the early game.
    
• The Name Selector (and Randomizer/Custom Settings selector) now give audio feedback when inputting/removing characters.
  
• Various minor visual and text adjustments.
  

--------------------Equipment and Enemy Changelog:--------------------

Equipment:

Leather Cuirass:
• +2 DEF (4->6)
  


Assassin Garb:
• +2 DEF (8->10)
  


Silkweave Cloak:
• +2 DEF (2->4)
  

Mid-Tier Enemies:

Impervious Rockroot:
• +5str, +10def, +5hp
  
• +5exp
  


Heavy Knight:
• +5str, +5def, +8hp
  
• +5exp
  


Enchanted Construct:
• +5exp
  


Swift Knight:
• +5str, +5def, +8hp
  
• +5exp
  


Heartless Knight:
• +5str
  
• +5exp
  


Young Dragon:
• +5str
  
• +10exp
  


Dragon:
• +5str
  
• +10exp
  


Young Magi-Dragon:
• +10str
  
• +10exp
  


Frenzied Knight:
• +5str
  
• +10exp
  


Glimmer:
• +10str
  
• +10exp
  


Shadow:
• +10str
  
• +10exp
  


Elite Heavy Knight:
• +5str
  
• +20exp
  


Elite Swift Knight:
• +5str
  
• +20exp
  

High-Tier Enemies:

Masterful Conjured:
• +55exp
  


Magi-Dragon:
• +80exp
  


Gemcapped Assassin:
• +82exp
  


Voidwoven Construct:
• +130exp
  


Elder Dragon:
• +135exp
  


Chaotic Construct:
• +105exp
  


Berzerking Knight:
• +100exp
  

Early Access Patch #10 (v0.2.0) features new content! Dive into the first of "Aedma's Trials" (previously referred to as Challenge Modes) to take on the "Trial of Clairvoyance". Additionally, five new achievements have been added.

Major Features:

• Aedma's Trials
  • Aedma's Trials feature game-altering modifications to Splintered's gameplay beyond typical randomizations! These trials are often challenging, but completing them permanently unlocks their game-altering features that can then be used in future runs and content.
    
• Trial of Clairvoyance
  • Enemies are deadlier than ever, but Aedma has blessed you with Clairvoyance!
    
  • Featured Modifiers:
    
    • Enemies deal 30% more damage.
      
    • You are Clairvoyant. You can predict enemy encounters, your opponent's moves, and the result of every turn in combat!
      
    • Clearing the Trial of Clairvoyance unlocks both of these modifiers in the Randomizer's custom settings.
      

Additional Updates:

• Five new achievements have been added. Two are related to the "Trial of Clairvoyance" and three are general achievements.
  
• The "Custom Settings" menu has been expanded with category pages to support the growing list of customizable Randomizer settings.
  
  • General | Magic | Aedma's Trial
    
• Many enemy sprites have been re-centered to improve their sharpness (their previous anchor points were causing some sprites to misalign with the pixel grid).
  
• "Divine Shield" no longer prevents dying to damaging tiles, to be inline with the changes in v.0.1.9 (as it now works once per combat).
  
• Fixed a minor issue with the "Equipment Price" randomizer setting, where equipment would show "0 exp" to level when it inherited Ludriel's Shield price.
  

Major Recent Changes Since Release:
If it's been awhile since you've checked out Splintered, here's a brief overview of the major changes that have occurred from Splintered's weekly updates!

• The Randomizer now has customizable settings to tailor your runs and provide new interesting features and experiences.
  
• Chapter 2 rebalanced to help players ease into the Randomizer.
  
• Many NPCs received dialogue updates to enhance the story in Chapter 2 and the Randomizer. Also a new story quest has been added in Chapter 2.
  
• Several bosses buffed and have improved randomizer interactions.
  
• Numerous balance changes and equipment ability buffs/reworks.
  
• Various accessibility options and improvements including rebindable keys.
  

v.0.2.0a:

• Fixed a bug where sleeping enemies wouldn't wake up when the Clairvoyance setting was active.
  
• Fixed a bug introduced in v.0.2.0 where the Mana Shield would restore MP instead of removing it.
  

v.0.2.0b:

• Fixed a bug where opening an empty spell menu when the Clairvoyance setting is active would cause errant behavior.
  

v.0.2.0c:

• Fixed a visual bug where, when the Clairvoyance setting is active and if the enemy is about to defeat you, a successful run would read "Success! Run Away! Defeat!" instead of just "Success! Run Away!"
  

v.0.2.0d:

• Fixed a visual bug where the Clairvoyance encounter UI would falsely show the ambush indicator "!" when the Godborne ability of Ludriel's Shield is active.
  
• Fixed a bug introduced in v.0.2.0 where players would receive the 100% guaranteed run success from running 3 times, before they had tried to run 3 times.